


One Awful Voltron Library AU

by melodramatic3rdwheel



Series: One Awful Voltron Connected Universe [1]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Alternate Universe - Library, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Fluff and Angst, I Wrote This Instead of Sleeping, I wrote this out of spite, I'm Bad At Tagging, Implied/Referenced Rape/Non-con, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Implied/Referenced Underage Sex, Multi, Slow Burn, Trans Pidge | Katie Holt, Transphobia, Underage Drinking, Weddings, mentioned alcholism
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-05
Updated: 2018-04-23
Packaged: 2018-12-11 08:02:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 41
Words: 70,208
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11710221
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melodramatic3rdwheel/pseuds/melodramatic3rdwheel
Summary: It's Voltron Characters. In a library. Fascinating. Also Keith and Lance. That's the main pairing. I don't really have much to say.¯\_(ツ)_/¯(I wrote this before the Shiro/Adam thing was revealed. I support it entirely. However, I am going to stick to the canon within the universe of this fic, whether or not I continue the connected universe.)





	1. In Which Everything is Just Set Up

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, okay. It's my first trip into writing, and romance particularly. I'm just doing my best. I hope you enjoy!!  
> Uhhh, Keith, Lance, and Hunk are sixteen at the start. Pidge is Fourteen. Allura and Shiro are twenty-three. Coran is in his forties.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Let's get this party started.

“I honestly don’t get why we have to do this,” Keith crossed his arms and sat in the uncomfortable plastic chair directly across from Shiro. “I already spend all of my free time here and you said that you would just give me the job if it would make me shut up about not having any cash.” 

 

Shiro gave an annoyed sigh, having answered this question a thousand times before. “It’s a formality, Keith, just like it has been for the last hundred times you asked.”

 

“Can we get on with this ‘formality’ then?”

 

They made their way through the routine questions of any basic part-time job interview. Most of Keith’s answers were sarcastic. He was sure he would get the job, he was the only candidate and his brother was the one hiring him. 

 

Shiro was the manager of the Altea Library, he made all the decisions on who got hired and who didn’t. Since everyone that worked there was all the original staff like Shiro, and they just now decided they needed another shelver, Shiro made the kind decision to extend a job offer to Keith. Shiro was so sick of Keith’s whining about not having any money that he did something he rarely ever did, he gave Keith a free pass. Sure it was a cruddy job at a dinky library full of dusty old books, but it got Keith glorious, glorious minimum wage. It also got Shiro the notion of Keith not borrowing money every time he wanted a soda and never paying him back. Keith owed Shiro almost two hundred dollars, so really, it got Shiro minimum wage.

 

“Well congratulations, Keith, you got the job, welcome to the team.” Shiro extended his arm for a handshake, still playing at this actually being legit in anyway.

 

“What a surprise.” Keith took his hand and shook it. He was grateful, so he humored Shiro. “When do I start?”   


 

“Now, obviously”

 

* * *

 

Lance and Hunk leaned over Pidge’s shoulders and peered at her monitor, which was tapped into the security feed of Shiro’s office. The security cameras were almost never used for anything other than Pidge nosing around in other people's’ business, and even less often were the ones in Shiro’s office used, especially if Allura was there. 

 

“That’s him! I’m sure of it!” Lance pointed at the screen, the tip of his finger just barely touching it. He really didn’t have to point Hunk and Pidge knew who he was talking about.

 

“Fingers. Off. The. Fucking. Screen.” Pidge smacked his hand away. 

 

“Yeah, sorry.” Now normally Lance would have put his entire hand on the screen, but rule number one of working at the library was don’t fuck with Pidge. Nobody spoke of the last guy who broke rule number one.

 

“Are you sure Lance? The video’s pretty grainy. They don’t really look related anyway.” Hunk said. They all knew that Shiro’s brother would be interviewed that day. They didn’t know that he was going to get the job no matter what.

 

“I’d recognize that mullet anywhere.” Shiro and Keith went through the interview.

 

“That Keith guy seems really disinterested in this. There’s no way he’s getting the job.” Hunk said, now sitting on the floor. He was the only one watching the video feed at this point. Pidge was doing some homework and Lance was painting his nails a nice turquoise blue.

 

“No way, seriously?”

 

“What’s up bro?” Lance asked, not even looking up.

 

“He got the job. And they’re leaving the office right now, so you should probably get to the counter.”

 

“Ah shit.” Lance got up and didn’t even bother to close the nail polish bottle.

 

“You’re gonna stink up my room with this shit!” Pidge yelled. She closed her math book and got up. “Nepotism at its finest, Hunk. Now get out.” Hunk grabbed the nail polish Lance abandoned and left Pidge’s office.

 

“So, looking forward to having a new shelving buddy since I upgraded to Master of All Things that Need Fixing?” Hunk gently placed the nail polish next to Lance and leaned on the counter.

 

“Was until I found out who it was going to be.”

 

“It can’t be that bad. I mean-”

 

“And this is the Main Floor.” Shiro walked in, Keith in tow.

 

“I know where all this stuff is already.” Keith grumbled.

 

“I know, I was just looking forward to the tour. But…. you don’t know your co-workers!” Shiro turned to Lance’s counter and led Keith over. “Keith, this is Hunk, he’s the maintenance guy.”

 

“Hey Keith, nice to meet you. And I prefer Master of All Things that Need Fixing, thanks.”

 

“In that back room is Pidge, you’ll meet her eventually. Probably.”

 

“HI OR WHATEVER” Pidge yelled from the other room.

 

“And this is Lance, he’ll tell you what to do. You know, if he would stop painting his nails when he’s supposed to be watching the counter and thinks I won’t notice. That’s a nice color by the way.”

 

“No one was here. And we’ve already met.”

 

“We have?” Keith looked Lance up and down, then focused on his face. “When?”

 

Lance stood up straighter and hopped over the counter. “Uh, we were rivals all through Freshman year? We were competing for top of the class? Lance and Keith? Keith and Lance?”

 

Keith gave Lance a blank stare. He had no idea what Lance was talking about.

 

Shiro broke the silence after a few seconds, “Well, I have paperwork to do, Lance, show Keith what he’ll have to do.” He then turned on his heel and left back down into the basement where his office was. 

 

“Didn’t realize Allura had her name changed.”

 

* * *

 

Lance was miffed that Keith didn’t remember him. HIM. Lance thought they had a mutual understanding of their rivalry, but apparently not. Apparently Keith was oblivious to not only their rivalry, but Lance’s existence.

 

“So are you going to tell me what to do or…?” Keith trailed off expecting Lance to do something. His glowering was starting to get awkward.

  
  
  


“Yeah, yeah, let’s go.” Lance’s words were short. He already didn’t like the idea of working with Keith, but now it was worse. He walked three paces ahead of Keith, eager to be done. “So you shelve books when you get here, then one of us will man the counter while the other continues to keep everything orderly. You can do the counter. I hate standing around with nothing to do. You already know the layout of this place, so I’m not going to show you around. Any questions?”

 

“Yeah, mainly, how do you work anything?” Keith was getting annoyed. He didn’t know who the guy was. He sort of recognized him from his math class in Freshman year? He certainly didn’t remember ever talking to him. But this guy was getting all mad, taking it personally. “And also why do you hate me?”

 

Lance walked back to the counter, Keith in tow. “This is the scanner, you scan books with it.” He quickly demonstrated how to use it for checking out and returning books. “This is the computer, when you scan a card, the person’s file will come up, you’ll see if they owe anything. If they owe more than two dollars in late fees, they can’t check out a new book. That’s really all you need to know. If you have any computer questions, talk to Pidge, she’s our IT girl. If you find anything broken, tell Hunk. Here’s some books to shelve. Bye.”

 

“Uh, how are any of these books organized?”

 

Lance smacked his palms on the counter. “God damn it, can’t you do anything by yourself?” Lance grabbed the books and stormed off, leaving Keith. He stopped abruptly and turned. “Well come on, you need to learn how to do your job.”

 

Lance continued to harbor his grudge all afternoon. He was angry leaving work. He was angry getting on the bus. He was angry all evening when he was babysitting his little siblings while his parents worked their hides off to feed them. He was angry getting into bed that night. Why did it bother him so much that one asshole he never talked to didn’t remember him? He thought for sure that Keith would. He wanted Keith to remember him. 

 

* * *

 

 

Keith was confused. A little annoyed that his new co-worker hated him for not remembering a rivalry they didn’t have, but mostly confused. 

 

On the ride home from the library Keith asked, “Shiro, does Lance normally hate everyone?”

 

“No. He’s usually pretty easygoing. Why?”

  
  


“He sure did seem to hate me. And I don’t even know why! He acted like he knew me. I’ve never even spoken to him before today!” Keith was getting more angry by the second. He wanted to enjoy this job, or at least not hate it. Now this idiot Lance was ruining any chance of that happening.

 

“Maybe you just forgot? You don’t really pay a lot of attention to other people unless they’re talking right to you.”

 

“Yeah I guess. Thanks for hooking me up with the job, by the way.”

 

“No problem, anything for my little brother.”

 

The rest of the ride was quiet. Keith tried to remember Freshman year. He remembered seeing Lance around school every now and then, but he saw so many faces in a day that he didn’t register. Keith spent the rest of the night thinking about it.

 

Then it hit him. That annoying kid in Geometry. The one who always was staring at that girl, Nyma, was it? He was always saying something about grades or being the best or whatever. Keith still didn’t remember talking to him ever. But he didn’t really talk to anyone in ninth grade, especially a kid like Lance, annoying, loud, class clown Lance McClain.

 


	2. In Which Lance Screws Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lance. He screws up.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Two, Yahoo! It's another chapter.

* * *

 

Keith came in early that morning. Day two and they had just gotten a new shipment of books. Keith was setting them out on display when the doorbell jingled.

 

Shiro walked in followed by Allura and some dude with a mustache. “Keith! I wanted to introduce you to Coran, our events organizer.” Shiro was peppy as always.

 

Coran the mustached man walked up to Keith, it was more of a waltz really. He stopped a few feet away and bowed deeply. “Hello! I am Coran, it’s a pleasure meeting you!”

 

Keith stared for a few more seconds before saying, “Uh, hi.” This dude was weird. He looked old enough to be Allura’s father, maybe late forties. Keith didn’t really know what to do, so he just continued to set up the new book display.

 

Coran, Shiro and Allura walked away to talk business. Keith heaved a sigh of relief. He just finished up the display when he heard the bell jingle again. He turned around to see who it was. Hunk Garrett, the maintenance guy was standing in the doorway holding a tupperware container.

  
  


“Morning Keith! I made some cookies to welcome you to our library. Want one? They’re dairy free.”

 

They sat in the break room. It would be almost an hour before the library opened, and who knew when anyone would even come in.

 

“These cookies are fantastic. Did your mom bake them?” Keith asked, stuffing a sixth cookie into his mouth. 

 

“Nah, I made them, they’re my mom’s recipe though.”

 

“You are a great cook. How did you know I was lactose-intolerant?”

Hunk smiled, “I just do most food allergies just in case. My mother’s gluten free, and my sister’s allergic to peanuts.”

 

If there was a contest for “World’s Nicest Guy” Hunk Garrett would be a top contender. He was just a genuinely good dude. He talked about how great his girlfriend, Shay, was, and how he missed her because she was living in Europe for a year. He talked about The Walking Dead. He talked about anything. And, most importantly, he didn’t mind that Keith didn’t talk.

 

After a half hour of them just chatting, Keith wanted to ask. He knew, from Hunk’s talking that Lance was his best friend, so maybe he could clear things up.

 

“Hey Hunk?”

 

“Yeah Buddy?”

 

“Weird question, but, why does Lance not like me?”

 

“Ahh….. well….” It was the first time all morning that Hunk didn’t have anything to say. “I don’t really think I should be the one who answers that. You should ask him.”

 

Keith wanted to pry more, but just then, a loud crash echoed up the stairs from the basement.

 

“That’s my cue.” Hunk stood up and grabbed his toolbelt then walked down the stairs, yelling, “What’d you guys break this time?”

 

Keith stood up and grabbed one last cookie before heading out to shelve the rest of the new arrivals. When he got to the box he was surprised to find that it was empty. 

  
  


“Took you long enough to get here.” 

 

Keith turned to see Lance leaning on the doorway to the storage room. He looked a lot less upset, maybe even open to talking.

 

“Also, there’s another box out back, so time to get to work.” Lance started off to the back door.

 

The box was huge, but not only was it big enough to fit Pidge in, it was filled entirely with textbooks.

 

“Who thought this would be a good idea?” Keith said through gritted teeth as he and Lance struggled to lift the box.

 

“Your brother, probably.” Lance replied.

 

“Shut up”, Keith grumbled, knowing Lance was most likely right.

 

They eventually got the box to the storage room, then sat down in quiet exhaustion. That box must have weighed more than both of them combined.

 

“Woo…. teamwork.” Keith said. He slumped against the box.

 

Lance slowly sat down next to him. “It’s too hot for this shit.” It was true. The crash earlier that morning was the AC unit breaking. Hunk was doing his best, but it was really screwed up. It needed to be replaced. 

 

Keith’s shirt was drenched in sweat. It was only late June, but it was hot as Hell. He got up and opened the box. He grabbed a few textbooks, trying to grab as many as possible. His shirt was clingy and gross.

 

Behind him Lance said, “Fuck it”.

 

Keith turned around and saw Lance holding his shirt loosely in one hand and a small stack of books in the other. Nope. Nope. Nope-ity Nope. He averted his eyes, his face flushed. “Lance,” He said calmly, “What, the actual, fuck. You are in a public library.”

 

“Yes, and?”

 

“Put your shirt back on.”

 

“Hey Keith?”

 

Keith sighed. “What?”

 

“How long have you been working here?”

 

“Two days, what does this have to do with anything?” Keith refused to look at him, he looked anywhere but at Lance.

 

“Mmmhmm, and how long have I been working here?”

 

“Are you seriously pulling the seniority card?”

 

“Two years. I do what I want.”

 

“Shiro’s going to get mad if he sees you. Allura will be furious.”

 

“They won’t see me.”

 

“Anyone in the library will freak.”

 

“Since when was there anyone in the library?” Lance was right again. The library was empty. No surprise.

 

Keith opened the door out of the storeroom. “Fine, dig your own grave, I don’t care.” and he left.

 

* * *

  
  


Of all the stupid things Lance had done, this was one of the worst. He couldn’t go back on it now, or he would look like a coward.

 

He had to do it. He dropped the shirt on the floor and grabbed a few more books. He somehow didn’t pass Keith on the way there or back. He chuckled to himself, maybe the newbie got lost. They both did a few more rounds shelving books, or at least Lance assumed Keith was picking up books too, he still didn’t see him but the book level would drop whenever Lance left.

 

Eventually there were no more books. Lance waited around for Keith for a bit. He was disappointed, he was hoping he could talk to him. Apologize for being a jerk. He sighed. Obviously Keith wasn’t coming. Time to rejoin the world. Shirt and all.

Wait. Where was his shirt?

That asshole!

  
  


Lance searched everywhere in the room for his shirt, under the box, in the box, between extra foldout chairs and anywhere else he could think of. It wasn’t there. 

 

There was only one option for Lance, someone took it. And he was positive that someone was Keith.

 

* * *

 

This was nasty. Lance’s shirt. Was nasty. It smelled like Axe body spray and sweat. But it was perfect blackmail. Pidge held the shirt at arm’s length and plugged her nose with the other hand. She dropped it in the corner of her IT room. How did Lance think that no one would notice that he wasn’t wearing a shirt? What did he think Pidge did all day other than look at the security camera feeds? Actual work? Ha. She was just about to text him her conditions about how to get his shirt back when something much more interesting happened. 

 

“KEITH!!!!!!!!!! WHERE THE FUCK ARE YOU AND WHERE IS MY SHIRT?”

Pidge snickered under her breath. Now this was a lot more entertaining.

 

* * *

 

Keith heard Lance yelling across the Library. While he was in the kid section. He was reading a story to some kids when he heard Lance’s maniac yelling. “Fuuuuu-dge” Keith said under his breath. “Sorry Kiddos, gotta go.”

 

He hopped up and dashed off in the direction that he heard Lance’s yells. He saw him running through the history section, shirtless, of course. 

 

“What are you doing? There are people here!”

 

“What are  _ you _ doing? You’re the one who stole my shirt!”

 

“Why would I do that?”

 

“I don’t know, to humiliate me or get back at me for being an asshat yesterday.”

 

“I’m not that petty.”

 

“Well then where is it?”

 

“I don’t know, but you’d better find it and stop yelling. There are kids and they could totally hear you.” He started to walk away.

 

Lance grabbed his shoulder and looked around. “Keith, uh, could you help me look?”

 

Keith hesitated. Lance looked nervous, he was embarrassed and worried. 

 

“Come on man, I need this job.” Lance said. He had removed his hand from Keith’s shoulder, but the spot it had been still felt warm.

 

“Yeah, sure.”

 

“Sweet”

 

“Any idea where it might be?”

 

Lance paused. He honestly had no clue. “You check the storage room, I’ll check in with Pidge to see if she has any footage about what happened.” Lance said. 

 

* * *

 

They split off on their own missions. Lance arrived at the IT room and banged his fist on the door. Pidge yelled to come in. The lights were out in the IT room, but the computers were on, and they cast an eerie green glow in the room.

 

Pidge faced away in her swivel chair. She turned around slowly, resting her fingers together like any good classic spy movie villain. “I’ve been expecting you, Lance McClain.”

 

Then the smell hit him. That overly cologned scent.

 

“You. You took my shirt.”

 

“Maybe, maybe not.”

 

“Give it back, Pidge”

 

“You and Keith are cute.”

 

Lance felt his face get hot. “What are you talking about? We like, hate each other.”

 

Pidge clapped her hands and the lights turned on. She tossed Lance his shirt.

 

“You sure about that?”

 

He stepped back and the door slammed in his face.

 

_ You sure about that? _


	3. In Which There Is More Set-Up

Pidge’s words echoed in Lance’s head. She had to be wrong. Had to. They were rivals, opposites, enemies.

 

Pidge was a weirdo, that was for damn sure. 

 

Lance didn’t report her, she was a little sister to him, in addition to the two he had at home. 

 

Also, she was the only one who could get any of their computers to work.

 

Lance strolled to the Storage room, not exactly eager to get there. 

 

At least he had his shirt back.

 

He finally arrived at the storage room. He walked in slowly, “Uhh, hey Keith I, uh, found my shirt.”

 

Keith was standing on a tower of boxes and books, pressed against a corner, “OhmyGodthankGodyou’reherethere’saratrightthereandit’sgoingtokillmehelp.”

Lance looked around. When he saw what Keith was so terrified of he started laughing out loud “Keith, that’s just one of Allura’s mice. It probably slipped its cage.” He scooped it up and put it in his pocket. “What are you so afraid of?”

 

Keith relaxed a little. “Rats, duh. And mice. And gerbils. And squirrels. But mostly rats.”

 

“Dude, chill, it won’t hurt you. And it’s in my pocket anyway. We’re all good. It’s okay.”

 

“Okay yeah except I can’t get down from here now.”

 

“Uhhh, one sec, I’ll go get a ladder or something.”

 

Lance ran off. He stopped and returned Allura’s mouse safely to its cage. It was sealed tight, and there weren’t any holes. How did the mouse get out? Lance decided it was a problem for another day.

 

Now where to find a ladder?

 

Hunk!

 

Lance dashed to Hunk’s maintenance room.

 

“Hunk do we have a ladder?”

 

“Uh, no, why?”

 

Lance hesitated. Keith wouldn’t want people to know. “Ahhh, no reason.”

 

Hunk gave him a questioning look, “I know you’re lying, but I’m gonna respect your privacy and not ask. But no, we don’t have a ladder.”

 

“Okay, thanks anyway, Bro.”

 

Lance left and ran back to the Storage Room before he heard Hunk reply.

 

“Okay so good news and bad news. Good news; Allura’s mouse is okay. Bad news; I don’t have a ladder.”

 

“Like I couldn’t tell.”

 

“I’m trying to help here.”

 

“Well then what are we going to do?”

 

They were quiet, thinking.

 

Lance piped up, “I have an idea. You’re gonna think it’s stupid though.”

 

“Try me.”

 

“Jump down, I’ll catch you.”

 

“You were right, I do think that’s stupid.”

“What other options do you have?”

 

“.........Fuck.”

 

“I’ll catch you, you just have to trust me.”

 

* * *

 

It was a good thing for both of them that Keith wasn’t very tall. Or heavy.

 

He jumped down and Lance caught him, just like he said he would. Keith wrapped around him instinctively, and it would have been okay, if a little awkward.

 

Except Lance fell over.

 

The force of catching Keith knocked him off-balance. He fell flat on his back, bringing Keith with him.

 

“Ow, fuck, you are a lot heavier than a five-year-old.” Lance groaned.

 

“No shit.” Keith said as he slowly pushed himself up onto all-fours.

 

Their eyes locked, and just for a moment they realized how close they were, and how easy it would be to just be a little closer, to just lean in...

 

They scrambled away from each other and sat in awkward silence.

 

“Thanks for the help, man.” Keith said, he sounded insecure.   


“No prob, dude. I’m just, gonna go...” Lance got up and left. Keith followed suit a few minutes later.

 

* * *

 

That afternoon, Shiro called everyone for a meeting to be held after their shift was over. He sat at his desk with his hands folded. His face wasn’t readable. “I assume you all know what I called you here about.”

 

Lance knew it was coming. Pidge or one of the library patrons ratted on him. How was he going to tell his parents? In his family, once you could work, you did work and the next oldest child became the babysitter for the rest. The library was the only place that would hire him when he was only fourteen. His family needed the money, even if it wasn’t that much.

 

Everyone was silent. 

 

Shiro got up and paced the room. He didn’t look mad. He looked disappointed.

 

“Three of you know first hand, and I’m sure the fourth found out.” He refused to look at any of them. “This behavior was completely inappropriate, and the reactions were just as bad.” He finally turned to Lance, “Now, who is to blame?”

 

“It was Pidge’s fault, she stole it, no one would have seen me if she hadn’t done anything.” Lance knew the only card to play was blame, he was going to get fired, he was taking Pidge with him.

 

“No, it’s your own fault! You shouldn’t have taken off your shirt in the first place.”

 

“If I had just fixed the A/C faster, none of this would have happened.” Hunk said, he was eager to get the blame off of his friends, he could handle Shiro getting mad at him.

 

“Hunk no, this isn’t your fault at all, It’s Pidge’s”

 

“It’s Lance’s”

 

“Pidge!”

 

“Lance!”

 

“Pidge!”

 

“Lance!”

 

“Stop it, both of you.” Shiro sounded tired. “Lance, you’ve been working here for two years now, I expect more from you. Pidge…” He trailed off. Pidge just kind of showed up one day and her name was added to the payroll. No one really knew how long she’d been working there. “That was uncalled for and immature.”  He paused, letting the tension in the air grow thicker. “Now, as a punishment for just you two, you’ll be put on probation and have to clean out the storage room, make room for new decorations. But all of us were requested to do something that has been a long time coming and is an even better idea since Keith’s arrival,”

 

There was a collective eyeroll. They all knew what was coming.

 

“team bonding.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> THANK YOU. Anyone who read this: THANKS, for giving this a chance even. I'm so ridiculously happy.


	4. In Which This Library AU Becomes A Camp AU

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things happen. At camp. I don't know. I wrote the chapter, why write a summary.

The bus taking them to their “Weekend Getaway Friendship Bonding Trip” smelled like B.O. and ammonia. The seats were lumpy and the bus had to stop every five minutes to pick up another passenger. The road was windy and long, the bus didn’t seem to absorb any shock from bumps and Hunk was car sick. Very car sick.

Lance was the unfortunate soul sitting next to him.

But that boy could sleep through an F5 tornado.

The sound of Lance’s snores, Hunk’s retching, and inexplicable goat bleating from somewhere in the back of the bus combined perfectly to make it impossible to make conversation or concentrate on anything.

Even Shiro was regretting his decision. Since it was all staff of the library, Coran came along too. And conveniently sat between him and Allura. Coran somehow seemed to be enjoying this trip.

Keith was sitting behind Shiro. He had been hoping to sit alone, but when it became apparent that that wasn’t going to happen, he was grateful that Pidge was the one who sat there. At least it was someone he knew that wasn’t barfing or Lance. He didn’t want to be anywhere near Lance for a while. But he was going to a Two day long group field trip with him, and they were probably going to have to share a tent. At least the other guys would be there. All in one huge tent. Allura and Pidge were lucky. They got their own tent.

To top off the nauseating trip, Keith had forgotten his earbuds in his bag which was stowed in a compartment under the bus.

After a half hour of staring out the window contemplating how much it would hurt to jump out of a moving bus, he felt a sharp poke in his side.

Pidge held a cheap pair of headphones up, an offering.

Keith took them with a silent thank you. The ride suddenly became slightly more bearable.

 

* * *

 

Eventually people started to get off the bus. The goat noises stopped, apparently they were some guy’s text tone. When they were the last people on the bus, they started to spread out, each taking their own seat. Hunk even managed to stop vomiting for a while. Lance was still snoring louder than a freight train though.

The bus slowed. They had arrived.

 

* * *

 

The sign above the gate read “Happy Mountain Activity Campground”.

“That can **_not_ ** be what it’s actually called.” Keith said.

“It is! Isn’t it so great to be here?!” Coran was ridiculously excited about this excursion. “Just smell that fresh mountain air!”

“I’m just happy that I can breathe through my nose again.” Pidge kicked at the ground.

“Let’s go see where we’ll be staying!” Shiro was trying to be positive. He couldn’t let the rest of the group know he regretted this or they’d never let him live it down. He lead them to the check-in office. Then they sat down to review the fun-filled friendship schedule that had been planned for them while they awaited the arrival of their “Friendship Leader”, Tammi.

She came in carrying a clipboard. She was the basic bubbly blonde camp counselor stereotype. Maybe sixteen or seventeen. She genuinely looked thrilled to be here.

“Okay! Welcome to Happy Mountain Activity Campground! I’m your guide, Tammi! If you follow me this way, I’ll show you where everything is!” She motioned for them to follow her and half-skipped away.

They trailed after her, Lance was the only one keeping pace with her, he was trying to look confident and cool. It didn’t really work since she was walking so fast that he basically had to jog to keep up. She followed a path through a wooded area. He saw that she was wearing a necklace with a little key charm attached. He knew exactly what line to use.

“Hey baby, is that the key to your heart? How can I get my hands on it?” He gave her his most charming smile and winked.

She tittered, “Oh you’ll find out!~” They talked for the rest of the walk, or well, he talked and she just giggled.

She stopped abruptly at a clearing littered with tents.

“This,” She gestured wildly with her arms, “Is where the boys will be staying! Those three blue and white tents are yours! Why don’t you unpack while I show the ladies their campsite?” She walked away and her shiny blonde ponytail swung back and forth with every step.

Lance stood there, dazed, staring at her ponytail, “Damn.”

Keith walked up behind him, “Hey lover boy, go get your shit to your tent.”

“Okay one sec, but she was so hot, right?”

“Uh, I guess?” Keith didn’t really see how Lance thought she was hot, sure she was pretty, but not “hot”. Keith didn’t really see how any woman was hot.

“You think I have a chance with her?”

“Ugh. Whatever. I don’t know. Just unpack your shit. You’re sharing a tent with Hunk.” He didn’t know why, but people like Lance just irked him. The kind of people that just hook up with someone and never speak to them again. It wasn’t fair to the other person.

About ten minutes after she dropped them off, Tammi came back with Pidge and Allura to take them to their first activity, “Friendship Ropes Course”

 

* * *

 

For the record, the ropes course looked like it could barely support Pidge, definitely not five grown dudes and a grown lady plus Pidge.

“So! This activity should be pretty easy! It’s the basic start! All you have to do is get everyone across from here to that platform over there without touching the ground between this line and the platform! It’s simple!” She drew a line in the dirt with her shoe and sat on a nearby rock.

Everyone knew how to do this, it was simple.

It was less simple when Lance wouldn’t pay attention to the task at hand to flirt with Tammi and Keith was so annoyed with this that he wasn’t very cooperative.

Shiro was desperately trying to get everyone to focus.

It took them almost an hour to do what should have taken ten minutes.

Tammi chuckled, “Well, we only had the ropes course for an hour, so, I guess discuss what you could have done better!”

No one wanted to blame Lance.

No one but Keith anyway.

“If you had stopped trying to chat the guide up, Lance, we could’ve been done in, like, ten minutes.”

“Keith, you weren’t helping much either, if we’re being honest here.” Hunk said.

They were just about to start fighting when Tammi stepped in.

“Okay! Well! It’s just about time to move on to the next activity, so let’s get going!” She took them to a new area. “This is even easier, all you have to do is use these skis together to get from here to those trees down there without anyone falling off! Easy Peasy!”

The “skis” in question were two ten-foot-long planks of wood with ropes to use as grips.  
Shiro stood in the front, then Allura, Coran, Hunk, Keith, Lance, and Pidge was nearly hanging off the end.

“If anyone falls off, you’ll have to restart! Oh! And one more thing! You can’t talk!” Tammi chirped then took a step back to revel in the chaos that was sure to ensue.

Deprived of the ability to speak, and by extension, being unable to flirt with Tammi, Lance resigned himself to actually trying to work with the team.

The boards were cramped, so cramped in fact that everyone was right behind the last person. They had to move in perfect synch or it would be ruined.

Pidge, being on the end, was in the most danger of falling off and by proxy being blamed for forcing the group to reset. She scooted closer to Lance, which made him scoot forward into Keith, who couldn’t scoot forward, he was already in closer quarters than he wanted to be, ever.

The twenty-foot trek seemed longer than it should have, because even without being able to use one of his stupid pick-up lines, Lance still got distracted by how pretty Tammi’s hair looked in the sunlight or her bemused smile whenever one of them would get so close to falling off that everyone took a collective breath.

He also couldn’t help but notice how Keith’s back was just an inch away from him, how nice his hair smelled, or how with every step, Pidge seemed to be shoving them a little closer together.

He thought, **If she was so concerned about falling off, why didn’t she stand in the middle? It was more logical for Hunk to be in the back anyway, he was built like a brick wall.**

Lance glanced back, maybe she was just really falling off and didn’t want to have them start over. But before he could get a good look, they had taken their last step to the tree line.

“Great job! You didn’t mess up once! It’s just about time for dinner now, so why don’t we head down to the mess hall!?” Tammi said, clapping her hands and bouncing on the balls of her feet. “We have an über-fun team-building exercise there too!”

They trudged after her, those skis made every step feel like their legs were made of jelly. They were uncomfortably hot and starting to get hangry.

When they arrived at the eating area, seven bowls were on a wooden picnic table, five on the right and two on the left. Four sets of handcuffs sat between the bowls on the right.

Before they could say anything, a few counselors swarmed them, clipping on the handcuffs and forcing them onto the bench. The only two unhandcuffed were Allura and Coran

Before anyone got to finish start complaining, Tammi burst into an explanation, “Okay! Sorry if we caught you off guard, but you all signed the papers!” They had indeed, signed papers, none of them actually read them except Hunk and Shiro, neither of whom found issue with the phrase “surprise activities” until now. “Unfortunately, some of you can’t participate, the bench is too short, but it’ll work anyway! Here are your spoons, now work together!” She gave them each plastic spoons. “You won’t be released until each of your bowls are empty!” She promptly frolicked away to eat her food, free of handcuffs.

They sat looking down at the unappetizing gunk awaiting consumption in their bowls.  
“This is your fault, Lance,” Pidge glowered down into her bowl.

“Shiro wouldn’t have signed us up for this if you hadn’t pulled that stupid prank!” Keith snapped back, almost hitting Lance in the nose with his own hand.

Lance was too preoccupied with the fact that not everyone was part of this, “How come Allura and Coran don’t have to deal with this?” It sounded a lot whinier than he planned.

“Coran has weird dietary needs, it wouldn’t be safe for him to do this, and technically Allura doesn’t have to participate, since she’s the owner-“

“Oh, Owner of what?” There was enough salt in Pidge’s voice to flavor all of their meals. “She’s only the owner because-“

_**Splat** _

Pidge got a glob of unappetizing goo right smack dab in the middle of her face.

“You know what?” Pidge said, loading her spoon. She flung it right back at Allura, and an all-out food fight broke loose.

After a good ten minutes of flinging their “food” around, their bowls were empty.

Tammi came back to their table, giggling, “Well, that’s not quite what I meant, but your bowls are empty, so I’ll let it slide!” She took the key necklace she was wearing off and one by one the handcuffs fell to the ground. “You should get yourselves cleaned up and then come back to actually eat some food this time! The bathrooms are down that hill, you have thirty minutes before dinner actually starts! Go, go, go!”

They rushed away, still laughing and telling stupid jokes.

 

* * *

 

Thirty minutes later they and a few other groups, each with their own counsellors, arrived at the mess hall for an actual meal.

This time it was real food and no handcuffs were involved. Everyone was worn out from the day. The “Friendship Leaders” sat with their groups. Lance just flirted with Tammi the whole time and Keith held back the urge to punch a nearby tree.

Just before they all headed to their tents, Keith saw Tammi run up to Lance, take off her necklace, press it into his hand, and whisper something in his ear that made his face turn bright red as he oh-so-eloquently said, “O-okay!”

Keith waited for him to catch up before asking as nonchalantly as he could, “What was that about?”

Lance’s face was still as red as Keith’s jacket. “N-nothing?!”

Now, Lance McClain was many things, but a good liar was not one of them. Keith could sense his bullshit a mile away, but by then, he had already guessed what was up. He shoved his hands in his pockets and walked away with a “Cool, cool.” Knowing that Lance wouldn’t notice how upset he was.

 

* * *

 

That night, Keith and Shiro shared a tent, Lance and Hunk shared a tent, and Coran slept on his own.

It was maybe midnight and Keith was wide awake. He didn’t know why. Something, SOMETHING was gnawing at him, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

He decided that he was going to get a drink of water, use the bathroom.

When he came back, he heard a zipper being opened near his tent. He snuck over and hid nearby. A human figure was creeping out of Hunk and Lance’s tent.

 **Holy shit** , Keith thought, **someone just snuck into their tent and probably stole all of their stuff or stabbed them or something. What if they’re going to attack everyone else? Shiro?**

Without another thought, Keith ran up to the figure and tried to brandish his phone flashlight as threateningly as he could. “Hey! Stop! Who the hell are you?”

The figure knocked Keith’s phone out of his hand and clamped a hand over his mouth. “Jesus Keith, do you want to wake the whole camp up?”

Lance let go and backed away, grabbing Keith’s phone off the ground and handing it to him.

“What the hell are you doing out here?” Keith asked.

“I could ask you the same thing.” Lance crossed his arms.

“Well I asked first.”

“Fine, I’m, uh, going to the bathroom?” He said, walking away.

“Well, unless you want to take a shit in the woods, I suggest you go the other way.”

Lance scoffed, “Psh, yeah, I knew that. Okay… Bathroom” He looked around.

“What, are you going to get lost? Do you need me to walk you there?” Keith said sarcastically, sort of half-hoping that he would say yes.

“I’m not five, Keith, stop acting like my mother.” Lance stalked away, still not the way to get to the bathroom, but Keith knew that wasn’t really where he was going.

 

* * *

 

A few hours prior, Allura and Pidge sat in their tent, a tense silence between them.

“Allura, I...I’m really sorry. I shouldn’t have said what I did, it was super not cool of me.” Pidge said, suddenly finding the holes in her sock very interesting.

“I know you are. You just weren’t thinking. It’s okay.”

“Are you sure?”

Allura didn’t answer, but simply offered her the open box of strawberry Pocky, a heaven covered biscuit stick of peace. “So, Katie,” Pidge was surprised at Allura’s use of her real name, “Did the plan go over well?”

“More or less, Princess,” Allura was equally surprised at Pidge’s use of her nickname, “It went off without a hitch, but they don’t seem to give a fuck.”

Allura shrugged. “They’re both boneheads, but I think that they do feel something.”

“Then how come Lance has been flirting it up with Tammi?”

“We both know that that’ll be a one night stand, just like every other time.” Allura sighed quietly.

“I wonder if Keith knows. Or cares.”

“Katie, Katie, Katie,” Allura waved her snack back and forth, “did you see him? He knows. He cares.”

Pidge nibbled on her pocky, savoring the bitter flavor it made when it mingled with the toothpaste she used earlier. “Operation Mousetrap was great though.”

“We’re not calling it that”

“Well I just did, but still.”

“Did Lance do the whole, knight in shining armor thing?”

“Not exactly, he tried to catch Keith, but fell over and Keith landed on top of him. It was hilarious, they were so embarrassed, I wish you’d been watching the cameras with me.”

“And my mouse?”

“Fine, duh, Lance put him back.”

“Okay, did they suspect anything?”

“Well I don’t fucking know Princess, I can’t read minds.”

Allura shifted herself so she was sitting cross legged across from Pidge.

“Any crazy plans?” Allura asked.

“Not really. I’ve been thinking that maybe we should back off, they aren’t stupid and everything will be ruined if they find out. Plus this is just a tad creepy.”

“You’re right. It is a little weird.”

“You should be meddling in your own relationship, when’s Shiro gonna man-up and pop the question?”

“Jeez Pidge, we’re only twenty-three! You should do some meddling in your relationship.”

“You mean my lack of one? Nah, I’m good. I got other shit to sort out.”

“Like what?”

“Well, damn Princess, you’re nosy tonight.”

“Oh, sorry, I just-“ Allura broke off. She felt bad for pressing Pidge, but Pidge knew everything about everyone, and no one knew anything about her.

Pidge took a deep breath, “Well I figured you already knew.” She adjusted herself into a more comfortable position. “Did you notice how surprised I was when I found out that you were coming along?”

“Well, yeah, but I figured that it was because I don’t technically work there, I just own the building. And the business”

“Not quite. See I figured I’d be sleeping in the guys’ tents.”

“Katie, you knew overnight stuff like this was-“

“Yes, I knew. Actually, uh, never mind.”

“Katie. You can tell me anything. You know that.” Allura put her hand on Pidge’s shoulder.

Pidge shrugged. “Just forget everything I said. Want me to braid your hair while you talk about your boyfriend?” She was eager to change the subject. Allura recognized that, and didn’t press further. It never helped with Pidge.

Allura talked into the night, and Pidge listened. They both wondered if this was what it was like to have a sister.


	5. In Which Keith Has A Bad Case Of R.B.F.

Lance snuck back to his tent at some point in the night, and no one was awake this time.

It was almost like he never left.

But the nauseatingly sweet looks Lance was giving Tammi and the non-stop giggling she did whenever he was near her made pretending that impossible.

Everyone knew. And they all felt bad for Tammi. The second he was gone, she was gone. Just another girl on the endless list Lance kept.

 

* * *

 

“Shiro, did you pick any of these activities?” Keith asked right after he read “Friendship Yoga” on the itinerary.

“Not a single one, the papers said surprise activities. I figured it was to keep us on our toes.”

“At what point did you think this was a good idea?”

“It was only $10 a person.”

Friendship yoga was friendship torture. But no one was surprised.

 

* * *

 

The last activity was “A-Maze-ing Teamwork Time”

They were paired up, Allura didn’t participate, since she wasn’t technically an employee.

Coran and Shiro worked together, and Pidge and Hunk paired up.

Which left only Lance and Keith.

The activity was simple. Navigate your partner through a maze while they’re blindfolded, and the first pair to get through wins.

Keith held a walkie talkie, and Lance was blindfolded, ready to get through the log maze first.

Tammi yelled go, and Keith started giving Lance orders right away.

“Okay, take a step to the left.”

Lance took a step to his left, and tripped over a log. “Ow!”

Keith sighed, “Your other left.”

Lance got up and went the other way.

“Now walk forward.”

Lance did as he was told, and tripped over another log. “You did that on purpose!”

Keith snorted, “Well if you would listen to me, then you wouldn’t have fallen.”

They continued to bicker, and by the time they finally finished the maze, everyone had already finished and it was time for them to get on the bus home.

 

* * *

 

The bus on the way back wasn’t as bad, there were less people riding. There were still enough people that everyone had to share a seat. Lance was just about to sit down next to Hunk when Pidge called out, “Hey Hunk! Save me that seat, I want to talk to you!”

“Pidge, I was about to sit there,” Lance complained.

“Sit with Keith, I’m calling an IT/Maintenance Department meeting.”

Lance rolled his eyes and flopped down next to Keith, who had successfully retrieved his earbuds from his bag and was tuning the world out and staring out the window.

 **Probably listening to some emo shit or something** , Lance thought.

Lance zoned out. Keith could at least be civil and acknowledge his existence. **Just like Freshman year**.

Keith ignored Lance through all of Freshman year. He always looked mad at everyone. He never talked in class. Lance sat in the row next to him all year and Keith never said a word. Lance couldn’t imagine doing that, he talked constantly.

He actually looked like he wanted to punch someone right now. Lance looked at him for a second and tapped him on the shoulder. “What’s with the face?”

“What face?” He didn’t even take his earbud out.

“You look ready to slap someone.”

Keith paused, “That’s… just my face?”

**I fucked up I fucked up I fucked up**

“Uhhhhh” Lance didn’t know how to save this **shitshitshit**

“Yeah. whatever.” Keith turned to look out the window and turned up his music. Now he actually looked ready to hit someone.

Lance just wanted to start a conversation. He didn’t know how to approach Keith, he was just so angry all the time.

Keith spoke out of the blue, “If I let you listen to my music, will you stop it with the puppy eyes?”

Lance didn’t really know what “puppy eyes” he was talking about but agreed anyway.

No surprise, it was some emo shit. Lance sort of recognized the song, but couldn’t remember what it was called or who made it. Something about parades. Whatever, at least it was something to do since his phone was dead.

After another few songs went by, Lance recognizing a whopping none of them, something a little different started playing.

Keith’s eyes bugged out for a second and he grabbed his phone, quickly changing the song to another edgy tune.

But it was too late. Lance already knew what the song was.

“ _You_ listen to ABBA?!” Lance yelled out. He was thrilled, Dancing Queen was one of his favorite songs.

Keith laughed nervously, “No, that’s not what that was, obviously.” He didn’t really want the whole bus to know.

“Prove it, go back to the last song, and prove it.” Lance knew he was right, he’d know those opening notes anywhere.

“Uh, I can’t?”

“Dude, it’s not that big of a deal, but if you don’t prove that that wasn’t Dancing Queen, then I’m just going to assume it was.”

Keith rolled his eyes, “Fine whatever.” He pressed the back button in defeat.

Lance was right, and they listened to the whole song. Lance danced in his seat.

“Wait, how did you even know that’s what it was? The song only played for like, two seconds.” Keith said.

“It’s one of the best songs ever, duh. Do you have more ABBA stuff on here?”

“Yeah, I have the entire soundtrack to Mamma Mia.”

“Sick! Play it!”

Keith switched playlists. “Who even says ‘sick’ anymore?”

“Uh, me. It used to be ironic but now I just say it.” Lance shrugged.

They rode for another hour in silence. Before they knew it, Shiro was waking them up, they were about five minutes away from the library, where all their cars were parked and Pidge’s mom was waiting.

They jerked up and away from each other. Lance had been leaning on Keith’s shoulder, and Keith was resting his head on Lance’s.

Lance hurried off the bus, and jumped into the passenger side of Hunk’s pickup.

Hunk was already in the driver’s seat, he looked over at Lance, “Dude, what happened? Your face is totally red.”

“Uh, _your_ face is red.” He coughed. “What’d you guys talk about during your ‘meeting’?”

“Broken computers, whether or not we should purchase some that can actually update to Windows 10, who’d win in a fight, Superman or Goku, the usual.”

“Bro, Goku would totally win.”

“Bro, that’s what Pidge said, but no way.”

They conceded that the battle would probably take so many episodes that no one would ever find out.

 

* * *

 

“Shiro, you look like you’re going to fall asleep at the wheel, I can drive.” Keith looked at his brother, who could barely keep his eyes open.

“Keith, you only have your permit, if I let you drive, my mom will kill us.”

“You’ll actually kill us if you fall asleep.”

“I’ll be fine. But I’m sure you’re perfectly well rested after your nap on the bus.” Shiro raised an eyebrow and smirked.

Keith just grumbled as his face reddened and he slouched down in his seat.

Shiro got them home just fine.

 

* * *

 

“Hey Mom, how was your day?” Pidge asked softly.

Pidge’s mom had full dark circles under her eyes, her hair was graying and she slouched in her seat. She had to work double hours since Pidge’s father and older brother disappeared six months ago.

“Fine Dar- er- Katie, and how was yours?”

“Fine.”

They drove home in uneasy silence.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact: Sometimes Keith just puts his earbuds in to so he has a reason to ignore people. Today might have been one of those instances.


	6. In Which The First Part Of The Chapter Is Pretty Much An Episode Of The Show

Two weeks passed without anything of note happening.

Just before closing on a Wednesday, the library was blazing hot. Hunk was in the basement trying to fix the A/C after it broke again. Pidge was screwing with the computers, trying to keep them from overheating. Shiro was downstairs with Coran, planning the Fourth of July Cookout.

Lance and Keith didn’t have anything to do except talk and wait for someone to come to return or check out a book.

“I still think if Angelica married Alex-“ Keith was mid sentence when the bell above the door jingled.

In strode Nyma, a beautiful blonde girl that Lance had talked to maybe once. She was tall, confident and absolutely out of Lance’s league.

Too bad the poor guy was head over heels for her.

Some dude with purple hair and an aviator cap followed her in then wandered into the shelves to pretend to look at some books.

She slipped a book into the return and leaned on the counter, “Hey, you’re Lance, right?” She completely ignored Keith, who was leaning on the wall behind the counter, “I think we’ve had a few classes together.” She was batting her eyelashes so much that the breeze it made probably could’ve sent Dorothy back to Oz.

Lance was immediately charmed. “Yeah, and you are?” He decided to play it cool, as if he didn’t know everything about her.

She giggled and Keith gagged, he grabbed her book from the book return and walked away to go reshelf it.

When he came back, Nyma and Lance were still flirting, he went into the break room but he could still hear them.

“Can you give me a ride somewhere?” Nyma’s voice was so sugary that Keith almost got a cavity just listening to her.

“I’m not sure, I’ve still got work and-“

“Well I could just ask Keith I guess….” She sounded so fake disappointed. **Lance can’t actually be falling for this, can he?,**  Keith thought.

“No, no! It’s fine, let me just grab my keys.” **Apparently, he can**.

Lance came into the break room and grabbed his keys, not even glancing at Keith.

“Going somewhere?”

“I’m just driving Nyma somewhere.”

“I don’t trust her.”

“You’re just jealous that I get to spend time with a beautiful babe. I’ll be back soon. Watch the counter. Bye!” He left and led Nyma to his car, opening the door in a grandiose gesture.

“So, where are we headed?” Lance asked as he pulled out of the parking lot.

“Oh, you won’t know where it is, I’ll just give you directions.”

About thirty minutes later, they arrived at a mostly empty field with a single tree, the field overlooked a river. It was covered in purple blue and pink wildflowers. A calm breeze ruffled the leaves of the tall oak that towered in the field.

“Here.” Nyma said definitively.

Lance stopped the car and they both got out. Nyma took Lance’s hand and led him down to the tree.

She stopped right under the tree, “Okay, close your eyes.”

Lance did as he was told. He heard Nyma unzip her purse and get something out. He opened his eyes when he felt a coarse rope tied around his wrists.

“Uh, Nyma, this is a little,” He looked around, just to see her running off, keys in hand, toward his car.

“Sorry, Lance, maybe we can talk some other time!” She called over her shoulder. Then she hopped into his car and drove away, leaving Lance stranded.

His phone was a few feet away, so he shimmied down the tree and scooched it over with his toe. He finally pushed it up so it was near his face. He pressed the button with his nose and held it down until Siri popped up. “How can I help you, Sassmeister?”

“Siri, call…” he paused, he couldn’t call his mom, she would be super mad, he couldn’t call the cops, they would tell his mom. Hunk always kept his phone off, Pidge couldn’t drive.

Was Keith seriously his only option?

“Siri, call Scarless Prince Zuko.”

“Calling Scarless Prince Zuko…”

The phone rang for what felt like ages.

“Hello? Lance?”

“Keith! Buddy! I need your help.”

Keith sighed, “What do you want?”

“Well, hah, funny story. Nyma tied me to a tree and stole my car and also maybe my wallet?”

“Holy shit, I said not to trust her.”

“Well just pick me up!”

Keith started making the fakest static noises ever, “Sorry, *ksh*, we’re breaking up *ksh* I can’t hear you. *ksh*” Then he hung up.

After a miserable thirty minutes of trying to wiggle himself free under the hot sun, Keith arrived on his motorcycle.

“Keith! Wait, where’s Shiro’s car?”

“He, Allura, Hunk, and Coran are trying to find your junker. Pidge can track it though, so it shouldn’t take long and I’m supposed to take you to the library until they can get your car back.”

“How can Pidge track my car?”

“I don’t know, ask her. However she does, it's probably not legal.” He pulled out a pocket knife and started hacking at the ropes holding Lance to the tree. “Stop squirming or I’m going to end up cutting your finger off. “

“I’m not sure if that’s a threat or a warning.”

“Both”

 

* * *

 

It took a good twenty minutes to get Lance free. By then, the rest of the crew found Lance’s car. They called the cops on Nyma and her purple-haired boyfriend.

“So, good news and bad news.” Keith said after reading his texts.

“Good news first.”

“They found your car, and Nyma got arrested.”

“Sweet”

“Bad news; the car’s an hour away and I’m your only mode of transport. Since they all used their own cars, no one can bring your car to you.”

“Can’t one of them pick me up?”

“Unless you want to wait an hour.”

“Shit. I guess I’m riding with you then.”

“Lucky you, I brought an extra helmet.”

Keith grabbed the helmet out of the compartment of his motorcycle and tossed it to Lance. He got on. “Are you waiting for an invitation or something?”

“Oh, uh.” Lance put the helmet on and climbed on behind Keith.

“You’re gonna fall off if you don’t hold on.”

“I’ll be fine.”

Keith turned on the bike and pressed the gas slightly. Lance fell on his ass. Keith flipped his visor up. “Oh for two, Lance, you should really start listening to me more often.” He remarked through a coy smirk.

“Fine.”

Lance got back on the bike and wrapped his arms around Keith as loosely as possible.

Keith hit the gas and Lance moved closer and wrapped his arms around Keith a little tighter.

 

* * *

 

Once they got there, everyone had left but Allura, who stayed to make sure his car didn’t get hijacked again. She smiled at them then scolded Lance for being an idiot. Then hugged him because he was okay. Then she left after handing Lance his keys.

They took off their helmets. Lance handed his to Keith. “Thanks for the lift”

“No problem.” Keith put the helmet back and checked how much gas he had. “Shit”

“What’s wrong?”

“I don’t have enough gas to get myself back. I didn’t expect having to go on this little adventure today.”

Lance looked at his minivan. “The back seats can be put down, if we try, we might be able to fit your bike.”

“You don’t have to do that.”

“Well I’m not leaving you stranded out here.” He opened the trunk and folded the back seats down. “I’m going to need help.”

They heaved the motorcycle into the trunk of Lance’s car and got in.

Lance started down the road.

“So, you have a minivan? Not really what I expected.” Keith said, trying to make conversation.

“Yeah, it was my Grandpa’s. He left it for me in his will.”

“Oh.”

“It’s pretty cool to have my own car though, that way I can go out if I want, and I can drive myself to work instead of bumming a ride off Hunk every day.”

“Yeah. I just got my full license a week ago. I’ve had my eye on that motorcycle forever. This was the first time I actually drove myself to work.”

“Seriously? Wait, dude, how old are you?”

“I’m sixteen.”

“HA! I’m going to be seventeen in three weeks. I’m older.”

“You didn’t already know that? Seriously?”

Before Lance could answer, his stomach grumbled.

“Dude, was that your gut? That was louder than your snoring on the bus.”

“Well, it’s like, nine, and we haven’t eaten, you have any cash? We could stop at the diner a little while down the road.” Thankfully, Nyma hadn’t taken Lance’s wallet, which was in the glovebox of his car.

“Yeah, I think I do, I’ll just call Shiro, or he’ll get worried.”

They drove a little while longer and Keith finished his call right as Lance pulled into the parking lot of a cute fifty’s themed diner.

It was pretty empty, with a small, travel-worn family of four in a corner booth, a couple sharing a milkshake by the window and one guy on his own eating a burger.

Lance and Keith sat at a booth and looked over the menu, a waitress came over and got them drinks, Pepsi for Lance and Dr.Pepper for Keith.

“How can you even drink that stuff?” Lance said after the waitress took their order and gave them their drinks.

“Actually, I prefer Coke.”

Lance made exaggerated gagging motions. “You have no taste what so ever.”

Keith rolled his eyes.

“DC or Marvel?” Lance asked while they waited for their order.

“Marvel, duh.”

“At least you got that right. Who’s your favorite Avenger?”

“Does Wolverine count? He’s technically one.”

“No, Avengers in the movies.”

“Captain America, how about you?”

“Iron Man, billionaire play boy, just like I’ll be.” Lance struck a stupid pose, which made Keith snort soda up his nose. Then Lance laughed and snorted soda up _his_ nose. Which made Keith laugh again. They sat in quiet agony as the carbonation burned their noses.

A few minutes later, after the fizz had calmed down, the waitress came by and gave them their meals. A hotdog for Lance and a burger for Keith. One basket of fries was set between them.

“How come there’s only one thing of fries?” Keith asked.

“My meal didn’t come with one, I guess?” Lance shrugged.

“I guess we can share, no point in waiting longer, I’m starving.”

They inhaled their food, and were done in under ten minutes, fries and all.

“And can I get you boys desert? Our milkshakes are world famous! And we’re running a couple’s special right now, a large with two straws for the price of a small.”

“We’re not a couple-” They said, of course in perfect unison.

Lance got a “firework” milkshake. Keith got some dairy-free disappointment.

He got his shake to go and the waitress asked if they wanted one bill or two.

“One” Lance answered, right before Keith could say two.

“Lance, what the heck?”

“The ride back was to make up for you driving me to pick up my car. This is for picking me up even though you told me not to trust Nyma and spending time cutting me loose even though you totally could’ve made me call my mother.”

“I’d be putting up more of a fight about this if I didn’t owe Shiro enough to pay for a small yacht.”

Lance paid and they left. They chatted about whatever they felt like.

Somehow, they got to the topic of A.I..

“When I die, I want all the knowledge in my brain stored in a huge ship.” Lance said.

Keith snorted, “The amount of information in your brain could be stored in a paper airplane.”

“Oh well, well,” Lance was drawing a blank, he always had a good comeback prepared, but he just couldn’t think of anything, **I must just be really fried**.

Keith laughed and Lance was grateful it was too dark him to see that he was blushing. Lance thought Keith’s laugh sounded like sunshine.

“Just turn here, and it’s the one with the black shutters.” Keith said as they turned onto his street.

“No prob, Bob.”

Lance turned into Keith’s driveway.

“Thanks for the ride, and the food,” Keith said.

“We’re even now, ‘kay? Just don’t mention it to my Mom.”

“I won’t.”

They got out and unloaded Keith’s motorcycle.

“How’re you going to explain this to your Mom? It’s almost eleven.” Keith asked.

“I’ll work something out. Thanks again for the rescue.”

“Yeah”

They stood around for a second before Keith ran a hand through his hair and said, “Uh, see you tomorrow, I guess.”

“Yeah”

Keith hurried inside and Lance drove away.

The car felt a lot lonelier on his drive home.


	7. In Which There's A Magic Show.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> When things are bold it usually means that who ever being focused on is thinking, in case that was confusing.

The library was actually busy on Thursday, due to one of Coran’s schemes to make the library more relevant was going on, a magician, “The Great Haggar”, was putting on a show. Since nothing really ever went on in their rinky-dink town, it drew a pretty big crowd.

Shiro and Coran were running around making sure everything went smoothly. Hunk was keeping tabs on the lighting and the janky A/C. Pidge was, well, she was doing whatever she does all day. Lance and Keith were on donation collection/ showing people where the bathrooms are/ actually doing their jobs duty.

They still weren’t very busy. Most people could figure out where the bathrooms were, and the donation box for “The Great Haggar” was pretty easy to operate, you just put your money in the slot. Of course, everyone was only there for the show, and not to use the Library as a Library.

They just leaned on the doorway to the “event hall” (which was just the Kid’s section with the shelves moved a little) and watched the show. It was pretty geared toward little kids, so neither Keith or Lance was too enthralled, and eventually Lance just started quietly explaining all the tricks to Keith.

“And then you just push the fake cup down and drop the real one.”

“How do you know so much about this stuff?”

“I used to want to be a magician, so I learned how to do all the tricks, put on little shows for my family.”

“You seem like you’d be a really good magician” Keith said, his eyes were still trained on the show. “Why’d you drop it?”

“I grew up I guess. Magicians don’t really make much money unless you’re one of those crazy ‘stab yourself in the hand and oh wait I’m fine’ magicians. These kind,” He gestured toward the show, “They don’t really get paid.”

“Does it matter if you’re doing what you love?”

“It does. It really does.”

Lance put his walls up. The conversation was over.

The show finished up, with Haggar “disappearing” in a plume of smoke. Everyone clapped and there was a huge push of people rushing through the doors. Keith and Lance were forced into the throng of people. Once most of the people left (some did stay to get books, most of which were on magic tricks), Lance had to checkout and Keith helped clean up.

Popcorn and juice boxes littered the floor. They didn’t even have refreshments. There was a mysterious stain on the floor near the “stage”. Keith didn’t really want to deal with that right now.

He got back to the counter where Lance had accumulated a line of people eager to check out books. He opened up his computer and started checking out books. Soon enough, everyone was gone.

“And, once again, there is nothing to do.” Keith said and looked over to Lance, expecting him to hatch some ridiculous scheme that would entertain them.

“Yep.” Lance replied. He was staring at his phone, his brow furrowed.

Keith hesitated, comforting people was not his forte. Neither was just talking to people at all. “Uh, you okay, Lance? You seem upset.”

“Yep.” Lance leaned on the wall then slid down. He put his head in his hands.

Keith sat down next to him. An uneasy silence settled between them. “Uh, you sure about that?”

Lance just sat there, after a minute or two he finally spoke, “I might have to find a new job.”

“What? Why?”

 

“The Library doesn’t pay that much. I need to help my family, and minimum wage doesn’t cut it.” He rested his head against the wall and stretched out his legs as far as he could.

“You could ask Shiro for a raise?” He knew it wouldn’t work, it wasn’t like the library was very well funded on its own.

“We both know that I can’t do that.”

“Well what’ll you do?”

“Find a new job, I guess.’

They sat quietly, listening to the clock tick.

 

* * *

 

That night, Keith formulated a plan, it was the most stupid plan ever, but it was a plan.

They got paid on Friday afternoon. Keith would cash his check then slip the money into Lance’s mailbox. Simple.

Except it’s never that simple.

The day went by easily, and Keith left work as soon as he could and booked it to the bank to get his check cashed. He zipped over to Lance’s house (he asked Hunk where it was). He drove up to the house when…

“Keith? What are you doing here?” It was Lance, he was out mowing the lawn. **Of course he was outside, it was six thirty, he was obviously doing housework. Stupid, stupid, stupid, Keith! And why couldn’t he mow the lawn with a goddamn shirt on?** It was like the universe was completely against Keith at this point.

“Uhh well,” he hadn’t planned on being caught. “I was- you forgot- uh- ME, I forgot my helmet in your van, duh.” He didn’t even realize that it was true, he had been using the one Lance borrowed, because he dropped his regular one in Lance’s car.

“Um, okay? I’ll just grab that.” He turned off the mower and sauntered over to his van. He popped the trunk and took Keith’s helmet from the backseat. He handed it back to Keith.

“LAAAAANCE DIIIIIIIIINNNNNNNNNNEEEERR!!!!!!” A young girl called out from the front door. She looked up and saw Keith standing there. “OOOO are you Keith??” She ran up to him, she was maybe eight or nine and definitely related to Lance. “You should stay for dinner!”

Lance stepped between them, a miraculous feat, considering the girl was so close she was almost stepping on Keith’s toes, “Cleo, I’m sure Keith has somewhere to be. He was just stopping by to pick something up.”

“Actually I don’t.” Keith smiled at the little girl. Despite not liking people, he was a sucker for kids.

Cleo beamed and grabbed Keith’s hand, dragging him away. She called over her shoulder to Lance, “Put on a shirt, you know Mama hates it when you come to dinner without one on!” Then she turned to Keith, “Mama’s cooking is the best! You can stay for dinner, right?” She gave him puppy dog eyes.

“If it’s okay with your mom, I can. I’d just have to call Mrs.Shirogane, I guess.”

“Yay!” She hopped up and down. “Put your shoes at the door, and I’ll introduce you to Mama.”

She dragged Keith into the house, which smelled amazing and then a kitchen which smelled even better. “Mama! This is Keith! Can he stay for dinner?”

A round woman, cooking something on the stove, yelled out something in Spanish and handed the spatula to a tall, thin woman. She walked over to where Keith and Cleo were standing. “So you’re Keith! It’s nice to finally meet you. You’re in luck, Flavia and Bruno are at their mother’s for dinner, so we’ll have extra food. You can stay if it’s okay with your mother.”

“Uh, okay?” Keith was just confused now. Lance’s family already knew him? Was already knowing Keith a McClain family gene or something? And now he had to stay for dinner, it’d be rude not to. He also kind of wasn’t looking forward to Shiro’s burnt freezer pizza for dinner. He excused himself and called Mrs.Shirogane, who said it was fine for him to stay, as long as he got back before nine.

Cleo skipped back up to Keith, “Can you stay? Can you stay?” She looked so excited, which just confused Keith more.

“Yeah, I can. Is there anything I can help with?”

Lance’s mom popped back out of the kitchen, “OOoo, I like this one. Yes, you can help Cleo set the table. She’ll show you where the dishes are.” She went back into the kitchen to finish up the meal.

“Okay, I’ll grab everything and you just stay here.Okay?” She grinned at him and zipped into the kitchen.

A minute or two later, she came back, fists full of forks and napkins. “Okay, just follow me to the dining room.”

The dining room had a big wooden table in it, surrounded by ten chairs. Keith put a napkin in front of every chair and then a fork on each napkin. Cleo put down cups and a pitcher of water.

“Okay! Just stay here and I’ll go get everyone else. They’ll be so happy to meet you!” She grinned again, and ran off up the stairs and around the house yelling that dinner was ready. While she was gone, Lance came back, wearing a clean shirt and a nervous expression.

“Keith, how much have they said?”

“What do you mean? Why is your family so excited to meet me? What the heck is going on?”

“Okay, okay, it’s nothing. Um, just sit down.”

Keith sat at the chair he was behind. Lance sat next to him.

“So you gonna answer my questions?” Keith crossed his arms.

“Uh, there’s a lot of explaining to do. We don’t really have time right now. Uh, I’ll explain after dinner.”

Keith wanted to make Lance talk more, but suddenly a rush of people came in and sat down. A flurry of voices and limbs. Everyone was chattering, no one noticed Keith. Cleo sat on his other side. She was talking to a girl a little younger than her, five or six maybe. When Lance’s mom came in and set the food on the table, the chatter stopped. She sat down and all the kids looked at her. She took the hands of the kids next to her, a twenty something man and the woman from the kitchen, and bowed her head. Everyone took the hands of the person next to them. Keith followed along. After a minute or two of dead silence Lance’s mother said Amen, and everyone else followed suit. Immediately after, the chattering restarted, and food was passed around. Keith, after listening closely, realized that it was an amalgamation of English and Spanish.

“Your family speaks Spanish?” Keith asked Lance.

“Yeah, well, most of the younger kids aren’t fluent, Gwen and I are, because my mom taught us Spanish as our first language. The rest of them are pretty good.”

“That’s so cool! Uh hey wait, is there milk or anything in this?” Keith said when the dish got to him.

“Oh crap, you’re lactose intolerant aren’t you? I think this is fine. I’ll ask.”

“No, no, it’s okay. It’s fine.” He took a small portion of the food. It didn’t look bad, but you could never be sure with these things.

He took a bite.

“Wow, this is amazing, does your mom cook like this everyday?”

“When she can, either that or Gwen does.”

“Uh, also, not to be rude, but can you just tell me who all these people are?”

“Yeah, duh, sorry. So, you know Cleo, then next to her is Maria, she’s five, then Gwen, she’s twenty-five, My mom, my dad usually sits there, then Arthur, he’s Gwen’s husband. Next to him is Marcus, he’s five too. Flavia usually sits where you are, she’s my aunt.”

“Are these all your siblings?” Keith had only grown up with Shiro.

“Cleo’s my cousin, and Maria and Marcus are my niece and nephew.”

“You have a really big family.”

“This isn’t even everyone. My mom has two brothers and a sister, and my Dad has another sister, each of them have their own kids. And I have two more older siblings, one’s in college, the other’s got her own family.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah, it gets pretty hectic at holidays. The family usually convenes here because it’s sort of the halfway point for everyone.”

“Jeez. I only had Shiro. I don’t even think I have any cousins.”

“I can’t imagine that. It must be so quiet all the time.”

“It must be so loud here.”

When Keith and Lance were done eating, Lance said, “Mama, may we be excused? I need to get Keith home.”

“Of course, it was a pleasure having you here, Keith.” She smiled.

“Thank you for the meal, Ma’am. It was delicious.”

Lance got up and motioned toward the door. Keith followed him out.

“So, can you tell me why your family knew who I was?”

“I just, uh, talk about work a lot, so yeah.” He shifted his weight to his other foot, “Cleo also found out about the whole thing Wednesday. She’s the only one who knows.”

“Cool okay. It was just kinda weird.”

“So, uh why were you at my house?”

“I had to pick up my helmet. You know.”

They loaded Keith’s motorcycle back into Lance’s van. It was getting dark, so Mrs.Shirogane texted him to ask for a ride. They got into his car and he started down the driveway.

“So are you going to the Fourth-of-July cookout thing Coran planned?” Keith asked after a long minute passed.

“I don’t think that we’re allowed to miss it, are we? But yeah, and my family’s coming. Is yours?”

“Shiro is, duh. But his parents are going on a vacation over the weekend. They won’t be back until Monday afternoon.”

They arrived at Keith’s house.

“So, thanks for the ride, again,” Keith said.

“Yeah. Don’t forget your helmet again, okay?” Lance replied with a wink.

They got out of the car and got Keith’s motorcycle out of the trunk.

“See you tomorrow.” Lance said, closing the trunk and putting his hands in his pockets.

“Yep.” Keith pushed his motorcycle up the driveway and gave Lance a quick wave as he drove away.

They both went to bed guilty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this chapter was changed really abruptly, and if you find any discrepancies with his family, please tell me. The names were switched around a lot.


	8. In Which Charizard Would Totally Win

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Barbeque! Woo!

The next day was the Fourth of July, and the cookout Coran planned in another desperate attempt to make the library relevant.

All of the employees of the Library brought their families. Hunk and his moms and little sister, Pidge and her mom, Lance and all of his cousins and siblings that lived with him. Shiro and Keith.

They didn’t have to work, but Hunk volunteered to cook the burgers and hot dogs and Pidge offered to pour soda.

A lot of people actually turned up, lured by the offer of free food. The burgers were free, everything else wasn’t.

Allura and Shiro were playing a very intense game of ladderball. Allura was ahead by two points.

Lance was talking with his family when he noticed Keith leaning in the shade of a huge oak tree.

He slipped away from his family and walked over to Keith. “Hey dude, what’s up?” He leaned against the tree next to Keith.

“Just trying to not get horribly sunburnt.”

“Well, you wanna go not get horribly sunburnt over there? With the food?” Lance nodded his head in the general direction of the pavilion where Hunk was making burgers.

“I guess I can.”

Lance grabbed Keith’s hand and led him over to Hunk, who was under a shaded pavilion flipping burgers. Pidge was pouring cups of soda next to him. They were in a serious debate over who would win in a fight, a Charizard or the Flash.

“‘Sup Brotato Chip?” ,Lance said.

“Just talking to Pigeon over here.” Hunk replied, “And the Flash would totally beat a Charizard.”

“Would not!” Pidge said, opening a new bottle of off-brand Sprite, “How would The Flash even start to fight a fucking fire breathing dragon monster?”

“Because he’s awesome, that’s how,” Hunk flipped a burger onto a plate, “So, do you guys want burgers or what?”

“Heck yeah, free food!” Lance realized he was still holding Keith’s hand and dropped it to grab a plate with a burger and a cup of off-brand Sprite.

“Ah-ah, nope! Drinks are a dollar. Pay up, bud.” Pidge reached out her hand.

“Awww, Employee discount?”

“I’m sorry, but have you been sitting here for two hours pouring drinks for asshats who try to argue their way out of one fucking dollar? No. Now pay up.” Lance groaned and handed over a dollar.

“One for you too, Keith?” Hunk asked. He put another burger on a plate and offered it to Keith. Keith didn’t react, so Hunk spoke again, “Keith.. Earth to Keith. Hello?”

Keith jumped, his face was a bright crimson, “Oh, uh, yeah. Thanks.” He took the plate and threw a crumpled dollar bill on Pidge’s drink table and picked up a cup. He wandered away and sat down, just staring at his burger.

“I think you broke him,” Pidge said to Lance.

“I didn’t do that!”

“Well you should probably go check on him,” Hunk remarked

Lance took his cup and plate over to where Keith was sitting, “You know, most people eat their food instead of just staring at it.”

“Oh yeah. Duh.Yeah…”

“Something on your mind?” Lance asked. **You** , Keith thought.

“Ah, no, just kinda zoning,” Keith chuckled nervously, “So, how’s your day been?” **How’s your day? HOW’S YOUR DAY? Seriously Keith? You are the worst at human interaction ever.**

“Fine, I guess, it’s stupid hot out. And this isn’t the most ideal place to be, but Hunk’s a grill master and I have the privilege of eating this burger free of charge and hanging out with you, so today doesn’t totally suck.”

Before Keith got to say anything, a peppy voice called out, “Lance McClain, is that you?!”

A girl in their grade jogged up to the table, it was Karen, one of the “popular” kids. She had the IQ of a goat and even worse manners than one. She leaned on the table, completely blocking Keith’s face with her hair. “Omigosh it is! How’ve you been?”

“I’ve been great, thanks.”

“So, I’m throwing a party tonight, so like, you should totally come. It’s at nine.” She stood up and saw Keith, “Oh and you can come too, I guess.” She left before either of them got a word in otherwise.

“So, are you going to go?” Keith asked, watching her leave with disdain.

“Yeah, she sucks, but I’ve heard that her parties rock. How about you?”

“I guess, it could be fun, and I kind of wanna get out of the house, Allura’s probably going to come over”

“Gro-oss.”

“What are you, five?” Keith rolled his eyes and held back a smile.

“Absolutely.” Lance gave Keith an impish grin.

“Small children like you shouldn’t be going to parties like those.”

“You need me to give you a lift there?”

“Yeah, sure. Wanna go play Kan-Jam with Allura and Shiro?”

“Why not? I’m a whiz-bee with a frisbee.” Lance finger gunned.

Keith laughed, “If you ever say that again I’m not speaking to you for the rest of your life.”

“I think I could live.”

“You sure about that?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is really fun. Trust me.


	9. In Which Keith Becomes Very #relatable

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They go to a party, Lance gets drunk, mayhem ensues.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, fyi, I've never ever been drunk or interacted with a drunk person, so this was kind of a shot in the dark.

That night, Lance picked Keith up around nine thirty.

“How did you even get out of the house this late at night?” Keith asked.  
“Told my parents. I was going to stay over at Hunk’s. He’s in on it, so if she asks him for some reason, I’m fine.”

“Why isn't Hunk coming?”

“Parties aren't really his thing. He’s also rewatching every Marvel movie in order tonight. How did you get out of the house?”

“I told Shiro I was leaving.” Keith shrugged, “He didn't ask.”

They arrived at the house at about ten. The party was already underway.

“Are we late?”

“You shouldn't really come early for this type of thing. House parties and stuff.”

“Oh.”

They got out of the car and walked into the house. Immediately, Lance was bombarded with greetings he was whisked away by a swarm of party goers. Keith was on his own.

 **Well shit,** he thought, Lance was the only person he knew and Keith wasn't exactly a people person. **This was a bad idea. Why did I agree to this?**

He wandered away, looking around for Lance when he noticed an open spot on the couch. He sat down and a red tabby cat walked up to him and sat on his lap.

**At least I can take solace in the company of cats.**

 

* * *

 

An hour later, Lance was down in the basement, watching some drunk girl attempt to pole dance on a water pipe.

It was pathetic, but Lance wasn't sure if it was because she was really drunk, she was wearing very tight skinny jeans, or because it was a water pipe. Maybe all three, nevertheless, it was hilarious.

He had barely been able to get away from Karen. She finally got distracted by some dipshit trying to punch through a door. There were tons of people here. Lance didn't even remember being that popular, but everyone was so excited to see him.

He sipped his drink. **I wonder how Keith is doing,** he thought to himself, **hope he’s not drinking. He’s my ride.** He downed the rest of his cup and wandered away for a refill.

 

* * *

 

At about midnight, Keith's cat had left, a few drunk girls were trying, to no avail, to “un-gay” him. Keith was unfazed. He had been offered drinks, but he refused, he didn't really see the appeal of alcohol. He was impulsive as it was. Lowering his inhibitions didn't seem like the best idea.

He wasn't exactly having the best time.

He walked around, observing. He saw some idiot try to punch through a door, he saw some girl pole, or rather, pipe dancing, he watched a dude attempt a keg stand, and other drunken shenanigans. At least it was a little amusing to watch someone bump into the same wall five times before turning around to go back to the mass of “dancing” people. Most of said dancing was uncomfortable grinding or waving their hands in the air. That was less amusing to watch. Keith was pretty sure he saw Lance five or six times, with a new girl every time, of course.

 **What a surprise,** Keith thought. **I wonder which one of these poor saps is going to be the next person on Lance's list of conquests.** Keith was getting really mad. He didn't even know why. It was Lance's life, not his, so Lance could do what he wanted.

Keith went back to the couch only to see some couple making out where he had been sitting.

He quickly walked away, swearing that he was never going to a party again.

 

* * *

 

At about one, Lance was drunk. He didn't know how many drinks he had or how many more girls he danced with. He was still having a ton of fun, **I should go to more parties!** , he thought. He stumbled over some dude, passed out on the floor. **Stupid guy, that's what beds are for.** He patted the dude's head and moved along. **That and some other things.** He laughed and meandered around the house, flirting with some cute girls, dancing with some hot ones, and drinking more. He eventually found his way to the back porch at two. People were still setting off fireworks and lighting sparklers.. Lance leaned against the railing, mystified by the red and blue sparkles igniting in the clear sky.

There was a person standing next to him, leaning on the rail, Coke can in hand. Lance looked at them. The flashes of light from the fireworks glittered in their violet eyes.Their black hair was messy in a styled way. The soft porch light caressed their features. Lance was dumbstruck , he spoke without really meaning to, “Wowww, you’re preeeetty..” Not exactly the most intelligent thing to say.

The person’s head whipped around to look at him, “Lance?” he gave an exasperated sigh, “You’re super drunk, aren’t you?”

“Psssshh, noooooooooooo….” He slouched against the railing.

“‘Mkay, you’re drunk, let’s go.” Keith grabbed his keys and Lance’s hand and led him out to his van. “Wait shit, I need your keys.” Why hadn’t he thought of this earlier? “Lance, give me your keys.”

Lance covered his pockets. “Nooo, they’re mine.”

Keith stepped closer and held his hand out, “Lance, give me your keys, you’re going home.”

“Nope!” Lance started to run down the hill the house was on.

“Goddamn it, Lance!” Keith chased after him. Lance was laughing like crazy while he ran. He was surprisingly nimble for someone who was drunk off his ass.

That is, until he tripped over his own foot and tumbled down the rest of the hill head first.

“Oh God, Lance!” Keith yelled, and ran even faster. He knelt down over Lance, who was laying on the ground, holding his ankle.

“Owowowowowowo”

Keith slowly moved Lance’s hands from his ankle it didn’t look broken, but he couldn’t be sure, “Okay, okay, You’re okay Lance, you’re okay, come on.” He scooped Lance up in his arms, trying to be very careful with his ankle. For someone so tall, he was very light.

He carried Lance back to his van and set him down, helping support him so he didn’t have to stand on his left ankle.

Keith reached into Lance’s pocket to grab his keys. His front pockets were empty. “Oh come on, McClain, where the fuck are your keys?” He was getting very annoyed. Lance was not any help.

He mumbled, “Back pocket”

“Of fucking course they are, can you get them?”

“Get what?”

“Your keys.”

“Mmm, I dunno where they arrre.”

“Dear lord.” Keith stepped back and leaned Lance against his car.

He tried to carefully take Lance’s keys out of his back pocket.

Lance murmured, “Whhhoooooooaa, Mr.Handsome-face… buy me dinner first hmmm????”

Keith felt his face get hot, “I wasn’t trying to touch your ass!”

Lance pressed his finger to Keith’s lips, “Shhhhhh, you’re the exception.” He winked suggestively. “Okay, I’m going home.” He pulled his keys out of his pocket and fumbled around, trying to put his house key in the window. Keith took his hand and slowly removed the keys.

“Lance, I’m driving you home,”

“Woah? Really? Cool…. You’re so nice...”

Keith unlocked the passenger side door and helped Lance inside. “Can you buckle your own seatbelt? I’m guessing no.” He took the seat belt and put it over Lance. Lance wrapped his arms around Keith suddenly and nuzzled his face into Keith’s hair. “You’re so soft….” He held Keith tighter.

Keith didn’t know what to do. His heart was beating in his ears. He hugged Lance back. He smelled like the stupid new cologne he got and beer. Keith didn’t want to let go.

They stayed there for a few moments, until Keith pulled away. His face was beet red.

“Noooo, warmth……..” Lance said quietly, and reached out for Keith.

Keith smiled warmly and closed the door. He climbed into the driver side. His feet didn’t reach the pedals. “You and your fucking spaghetti legs.” he grumbled in Lance’s general direction as he scooted the seat forward.

“You love these fuckin’ spaghetti legs. You know it.” He winked at Keith. Keith had to agree, Lance had some nice legs, spaghetti-ish as they were.

Keith maneuvered out of the driveway. Minivans were much clunkier than Shiro’s Prius or Keith’s motorcycle.  
Lance’s hand snaked clumsily over to Keith’s. He took it slowly, Keith let him. Lance’s hand was soft and warm.

Keith had just gotten to the bottom of the hill when he realized he didn’t know where Hunk lived. He didn’t have Hunk’s number in his phone either. “Lance, I don’t think you could get me to Hunk’s house, could you?”

“Mmmmmm, nooooooooo, I don’t wanna go there.”

“Lance, I can’t take you home, your mother would kill both of us.”

“No, not home.”

“Lance, where am I taking you?” He couldn’t take Lance back to his house, he didn’t know where Hunk’s house was.

Lance shrugged exaggeratedly, taking Keith’s hand with him.

Keith knew there was only one place he could go.

He sighed and turned down the road.

 

* * *

 

Fifteen minutes later, they pulled up in front of a nice suburban house, white with black shutters, and immaculate garden, and a silver Prius in the driveway.

“Home sweet home.” Keith said, parking the car in the driveway.

He let go of Lance’s hand and got out of the car then went around to help Lance out.

“Okay, c’mon, let’s get you inside.” Keith helped Lance into the house. “Be very quiet, Allura and Shiro are probably asleep.”

“Mmmhmm okay”. They stepped into the house. Keith heard the TV still on. Someone got up and walked into the kitchen.

“Where have you been!?” Shiro whisper-yelled at Keith. He was ignoring Lance.

“Uh, a party? Also Lance fell and his ankle’s screwed up.”

Shiro was in automatic dad-mode, “Holy- did he hit his head? Has his ankle swollen? Is he drunk?”

“No, yes, yes.”

“I’m not drunk!” Lance yelled.

“Lance! Quiet!” Keith whisper-yelled.

“Shiro? Is someone there?” Allura rubbed her eyes and sleepily walked into the kitchen.

“No, babe, it’s fine, go back to sleep, okay?”

“Mmmhmmm….” She wandered off back to the living room

After she left, Shiro looked back at Keith, he wasn’t sure what to do. “Okay, can’t you take him home?”

“If I do, he’ll get in huge trouble.” Lance was starting to doze off, leaning more on Keith’s shoulder.

“Where is he supposed to be right now?”

“I don’t know? And we can’t take him to Hunk’s, I don’t know where it is.”

“I don’t either, but I could call him and find out. We could drive Lance over there.”

“I’m not getting him back into the car.”

Shiro sighed. “Then he can stay here. Take him to your room, I’ll help.”

“Why my room?”

“He’s probably going to throw up, and I don’t want my room smelling like puke.” He moved to help Keith hold up Lance.

Keith moved away, “I can carry him on my own!”

Lance decided to chime in quietly with, “Take me away, prince charming.”, then proceeded drift off into sleep.

“Just, turn his head and elevate his ankle.” Shiro said, then went back to the living room.

“I know, I know, jeez.”

He trudged up the stairs with Lance, and reached his room. He laid Lance down, and turned his head and elevated his ankle, just like Shiro said to.

“I’m too hot……….” Lance said quietly, he seemed pretty awake now.

“Lance you aren’t even under any blankets.”

Lance pulled his shirt off and tossed it at Keith, missing by a mile.

“Lance, can you even keep your shirt on for an entire day?”

“Nooo….. I’m still too hot………”

“Jesus, Lance.” Keith turned away as Lance stripped his jeans off.

“I’m good now.”

Keith turned back around, Lance was under a sheet, “I thought you said you were too hot.”

Lance just whispered, “Hot damn” and giggled.

“You are so fucking stupid.”

“You love it.”

Keith hesitated, he ran his hand through his hair. He changed the subject, “Where am I going to sleep now?”

Lance scooted over, “Mm, here or whatever.”

Keith stood in place, not moving an inch until Lance said quietly, “Keeiiiiittthhhhhhh……….. C’mon, I’m lonely……..” and reached out for him sleepily.

Keith didn’t move.

“Please?”

Keith sighed, took off his jacket and threw it over a chair. He slowly got into bed next to Lance.

He tried not to think about how cute Lance was or that the freckles on his back formed constellations or how close he was. He tried to ignore how calm and sweet Lance looked.

He couldn’t really ignore it when Lance draped his arm over Keith’s waist and rested his head on Keith’s chest or when he slowly closed his hand around the fabric of Keith’s shirt.

Keith didn’t move away.

They drifted off to sleep together, at peace.


	10. In Which You Expect A Certain Reference

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's short as heck. Sorry mate.

Lance woke up with a splitting headache. **Holy shit what did I do last night?** He looked around, where were the stars on his ceiling? Where was the sound of kids running up and down the stairs? Where was the familiar smell of cinnamon waffles?

Where _was_ he?

Whose sheets were these? Whose house was this? **What did I do, or should I say who did I do last night?**

He tried to sit up, the world was spinning and he felt like his head was going to explode. This was absolutely not his room. He forced himself to sit up. He saw a red jacket draped over a spinny chair at a black desk.

That jacket.

 _Keith’s_ jacket.

 **Oh fuck no, oh fuck, oh no.** Lance knew that he got really flirty when he was drunk. He knew he did some stupid stuff. **But Keith wouldn’t go for that, would he? He’s not gay! _I’m_ not gay!** He put his face in his hands and flopped down on the pillows. A small part of him thought, **drunk me has all the fun.** He forced that out of his mind real quick.

He stood up and almost fell down immediately. His ankle ached. His head and his heart were pounding, **I’m never drinking ever again.** He got up again and used the wall for balance. **Where am I even going?** He put on his clothes and limped down the hall. He heard voices.

“Hello?” He called out. The voices stopped.

“Lance?” Allura’s head popped out from around a corner, “You’re up!” She walked over to Lance. “How’s your head? The kitchen is this way, we can talk over breakfast.”

She helped him walk to the kitchen, Lance needed to play it cool, “Talking? Eating? Are you asking me on a date?” He winked. Allura chose not to dignify this with a response.

“Classic,” Keith muttered under his breath.

Lance sat at the table. A plate of eggs, a glass of water and some tylenol was set in front of him.

Allura and Shiro left. A few silent minutes passed.

“Do you remember anything?” Keith’s voice sounded small and insecure.

“No. Should I? What happened?” Panic rose in Lance’s chest.

“We didn’t do anything, don’t worry. I just didn’t know where to bring you, so I brought you here. You needed somewhere to sleep.”

“Where did you sleep?”

Keith didn’t say anything. He ran his hand through his hair, “The couch.” The lie burned in his throat. He didn’t want things to be weird between them. “It’s no problem.”

He would have paid to know what was on Lance’s mind.

To be honest, Lance was almost disappointed.

Lance called Hunk, to tell him that he was okay. He drove himself home once his headache calmed down a bit.

 

* * *

 

When he got home he just laid on his bed, face down.

His mind was going a million miles an hour. Part of him was grateful that nothing happened, but another part of him almost wanted something to have happened. All of him wanted to know why he wanted something to have happened.

He fell asleep, but it felt like something was missing as he drifted off.


	11. In Which Pidge Only Eats The Green Skittles

Another uneventful week passed.

One Monday morning, Lance was in the worst mood. He wasn’t interesting in dealing with the kids, he yelled at Pidge and just glowered behind the counter all morning.

Keith edged up to Lance while the library was pretty much empty, a few people were scattered around, looking at books.

“Hey, uh, Lance, what’s up?” Keith asked quietly.

“Nothing.” His voice was cold.

“Are you okay?” Keith ran his hand through his hair.

“I’m fine.” There was no humor in his voice, his eyes looked blank.

“Are you sure?”

“I’m. Fine.” His tone was strained.

“Oh, okay.” Keith backed away.

Lance went back to glaring at the counter, and Keith slipped into Pidge’s office.

“Hey Pidge,” He said, shutting the door behind him, “Do you know what’s up with Lance?”

She quickly changed tabs on her computer. Without looking up, she said, “How much money do you have?”

“I have like, twenty dollars and a bag of Skittles.”

Pidge mulled over her options, “I don’t feel totally comfortable giving you this information, it’s kind of personal, I don’t really feel great about knowing it. Lance is like a big brother to me, I don’t want him getting hurt. And if you ever tell him that your contract will be mysteriously terminated and you’ll suddenly have a permanent residence in Bumfuck-Nowhere, Utah.”

“Noted. But I’m just worried about him. He’s really angry. He hasn’t flirted with a single person all morning. He seems really on edge.” Keith fiddled with his hair.

“Well, this morning he was on his phone, on a call, he was pretty upset. I have the back file from the security cameras, if you want to watch it. You can only hear his side of the call though.”

“It’ll do.”

Pidge queued up the video feed and handed a pair of headphones to Keith.

 

* * *

 

The video was grainy and the audio sounded like Lance was talking out of a tin can, but it worked.

Lance was in the children’s section, reshelving books, when his phone rang. He answered it,

“Hello?.... Hi Mama, what’s wrong?.... No. You can’t be serious. No. No no no.” He sank down, leaning on a bookshelf, “She can’t, no… Do you want me to come home?... I know, but Shiro would understand… Okay… Are you sure?.... Okay, I love you so much… Be safe.” He hung up and put his face in his hands. His whole body was shaking. He quietly cried.

 

* * *

 

Keith took off the headphones. His eyes were watery from the fuzzy video.

“Could you get anything from that?” Pidge asked while carefully picking out the green Skittles from the bag Keith gave her.

“Enough, I think. Thanks.”

“Anytime. Just don’t hurt him, okay?

“I would never.”

Keith left, he was pretty sure he knew what was wrong, but he didn’t want to jump to conclusions.

 

* * *

 

It wasn’t until lunch that Keith got to talk to Lance.

“So, Lance, how’s it going?”

“Keith, if you're going to try to cheer me up, it won't work. You have no idea what's even going on.”

Keith took a quick breath. “I still want to help. You haven't been yourself all day. I’m just worried.” he gently placed his hand on Lance's shoulder. Lance seemed to relax at his touch.

Lance took a deep breath. “My abuela-” he broke off. His eyes were watering, if he kept talking he would start crying.

Keith moved away. “It’s okay. I’m sorry I pried. You don't have to say anything more.”

But something about Keith made Lance want to tell him. He wanted to tell Keith everything. Something about Keith just made Lance want to trust him. Lance whispered, “No, it's fine. You were just concerned. My abuela was killed in a car accident this morning. I was told to stay and work. We need the money.”

“Tell Shiro right now. Go home. Be there for your family.”

“He won't let me go. Not on paid leave.”

Keith took Lance's hand. “Yes he will. He knows what it's like to lose someone close.”

Lance looked into Keith's eyes. “You sure about that?” He was skeptical, Shiro was a stickler about paid leave.

Keith nodded.

Lance got up, “Thanks, Keith.”

“Yeah, no problem.” He fiddled with a few strands of his hair.

Lance grabbed the paper bag his lunch was in and tossed it in the garbage. He left the break room and closed the door softly behind him.

Keith sighed and slouched in his chair. He figured something like that had happened. He knew very well what it was like to lose someone close. He was only three when his mom left. He didn't remember her much.

But he was fourteen when his dad died.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter is the suicide mention, so like, if that bothers you you should skip it. It's just angst, not very important to the plot. More character and back ground.


	12. In Which It's Flashback Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith's backstory dump, let's go.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last warning, this is the suicide mention chapter. If you're uncomfortable with that then just wait for the next one, it's okay. Also I've never lost anyone close to me, so I don't know the procedure for that kind of thing, therefore, this probably isn't the most accurate. This is also during freshman year, in October or so. And without further ado...

It was late morning. Keith was in biology. They were discussing mitosis. The girl in front of him was clicking her pen. The boy to his right was falling asleep. Keith was counting the seconds before lunch, his stomach was grumbling because he had only eaten one strawberry poptart that morning. He took one last longing look at the clock, urging it forward, then returned his eyes to the teacher. She was wearing what was probably the ugliest blouse in existence. Neon orange with blue splotches. He wondered how she expected anyone to pay attention when she dressed like a colorblind Sesame Street character. He started to fiddle with his hair, thinking that he should ask his dad to schedule a haircut. It was getting long. Mrs.Merkle was asking a question. Something about Ectoplasm? Microplasm? Cytoplasm? Keith didn't know what she asked. He avoided eye contact and started to doodle on his notebook.

The phone rang just as the girl in front of Keith raised her hand to answer Mrs.Merkle’s question. Mrs.Merkle answered it.

“Okay, mhm.” She hang up. “Keith Kogane to guidance, now, take your things,” she said. She was wearing an orange blouse with blue flowers that day. Keith always thought that one was ugly.

Keith got up slowly, he wondered what was going on, he never acted up. He wasn’t a good enough student to be receiving an award. He picked up his books and wandered out to the hall, running through situations in his head. Could he be in trouble? He scanned his memory for anything he could have done. Nothing came up.

He could have never expected what was coming.

He opened the door to the guidance office. It was heavy. He used his elbows to turn the handle, because he was carrying so many books.

Shiro’s parents were there, they were family friends. Mr.Shirogane was like a brother to Keith’s father. They were his godparents. Mr.Shirogane looked like he had been crying. Mrs.Shirogane still was.

That was not a good sign. He had never seen either of them cry, Mr.Shirogane almost never showed any emotion at all, and Mrs.Shirogane was so happy and smiley all the time that Keith could barely fathom her ever being sad.

“What’s going on? Why are you guys here? Is there something wrong?” He looked at them. Alarm bells were going off in his head.

Mrs.Shirogane wrapped her arms around Keith in a motherly embrace.

“What’s going on?” He repeated.

She moved away and sat down in one of the chairs in the guidance office. She took a shaky breath, “Keith, put down your books honey, sit down.”

He did and she took his hand, “Keith, a few hours ago, your father-” She broke into tears. Mr.Shirogane put his hand on her shoulder while she cried.

He cleared his throat and kneeled down, so he was eye-level with Keith. “Keith, this morning,” His usually gruff voice was oddly soft, “This morning, after you went to school, your father, He took his own life.” He put his hand on Keith’s shoulder, “I’m so sorry.”

Keith’s world shattered. It didn’t feel real. What they were telling him, it had to be fake. This had to be a cruel joke. “No, what are you talking about? He can’t be-” Keith’s eyes were watering. His hands shook. His father was closer to him than anyone else.

“Keith, we’re so sorry.” Mrs.Shirogane hugged him again.

Tears streaked down Keith's face. The Shiroganes kept talking. He didn't hear them. It was blurry. This couldn't be real, but they couldn't be lying.

Mrs.Shirogane led Keith out of the school. His legs moved on their own. He felt the weight of Mr.Shirogane’s hand on his shoulder. Keith slowly trailed along next to them. Warm tears rolled down his cheeks.

 

* * *

 

“Keith?” A small shoe lightly kicked Keith’s foot. “Keeeiiiiith?” Pidge leaned over to look Keith in the eyes. “What’s wrong? Why’re _you_ crying now?”

“Oh! Uh… Just thinking.” He swept his hand over his eyes and stood up, “You’re… out of your room?”

“Well this is the break room, for all employees.”

“You never leave your room though.”

 “This is also the only place that I can get Hunk’s no-bake cookies.” Pidge reached into the fridge, which was probably older than Coran, and pulled out a no-bake cookie, a bottle of apple juice, and a monster energy drink. Through a mouthful of cookie, Pidge said, “Tell Hunk that the fridge light is broken again,” she hit the fridge door closed with her hip, “And that these cookies are great.”

She took a few steps toward the door. “Are you really okay, Keith? Do you wanna talk?” Her usual nosy demeanor had been done away with, and the sincerity in her voice shone through.

Keith blew a chunk of hair out of his face, “No and no. Thanks for asking. I’ll tell Hunk about the fridge. See you later.”

Pidge swallowed the last few bites of her cookie, “Oh-kay.” She said hesitantly, “If you change your mind, you know where to find me. Later”

She closed the door softly behind her, and Keith hauled himself up to go see if there was any work to be done, leaving his sandwich untouched.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you don't know what no-bake cookies are, they're chocolate and peanut butter mixed with oats and chilled until they harden. That's a pretty awful description, but they're really good. Take my word for it.
> 
> And in the last chapter, Keith mentioned that Shiro knew what it felt like to lose someone close, he meant Keith's dad. And one other person who might come up eventually.


	13. In Which Lance's Phone Number Is A Joke.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Phone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> /When you feel like you're ripping off "Call Me, Beep Me", despite having written this far before you read this.  
> Needless to say, I didn't.

That night, as Keith was laying in bed, scrolling through some conspiracy theory subreddit on his phone, his phone let out a small jingle. It wasn’t a text tone he recognized as one of the custom ones he had for his family. He checked his phone, it wasn’t a number he recognized.

 

  * 555-3825: hey
  * You: uh.. who is this
  * 555-3825: Lance McClain? Wait, this is your number, right? Are you Keith?
  * You: yes. whats wrong
  * 555-3825: I just wanted to talk to my friend? What’s wrong with that?
  * You: then why didnt you text hunk?
  * 555-3825: Hunk is usually asleep at three a.m. and I just wanted to talk to you.



Keith read over the last part of the text. Heat rose to his face. What would Lance want to talk to him about? What was he doing? A few minutes passed before his phone buzzed in his hand.

 

  * 555-3825: You still there?
  * You: yeah sorry. what do you want to talk about?
  * 555-3825: Anything. How’d the rest of the day go?
  * You: uh, fine. uneventful as ever
  * 555-3825: Do you want to call?
  * You: sure



Suddenly, the icon for a phone call popped up on Keith’s screen, he accepted in a heartbeat.

“Hey” Keith put the phone up to his ear. It was weird to actually talk to someone, not just text.

“Hi, Keith.” Lance’s voice had a slight waver, as if he had been crying.

“Are you okay?”

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. I just needed to talk to someone, you know? I couldn’t sleep.”

“Oh, well, what do you want to talk about?”

“I don’t know. Tell me a story. Tell me about something stupid that happened when you were a kid.”

“Ah, okay, kinda putting me on the spot, but okay. Uh, Once Upon a Time, should I start with Once Upon A Time?”

“Definitely”

“Well then, Once Upon A Time, when I was about five, ah, my dad took me out on his motorcycle. And he put me in front of him, so I wouldn’t fall off. We rode into town and stopped by that ice cream parlor down by the river. It was sort of close to that tree you got tied to.”

“I think I know where it is.”

“Okay, so we went there to get some ice cream, duh. And he parked and led me up to the counter. And I got this huge banana split sundae thing. I’m pretty sure that it was heavier than me. But I was determined to eat that whole thing.”

“But you’re allergic?”

“I didn’t know that when I was five. I had just gotten my appendix removed, that’s why we were out getting ice cream. But I ate that sundae, and it was worth it, it was so worth it. I was barfing all night and then we found out that I was lactose intolerant. But it was so worth it.”

“I didn’t realize that you’d ever had ice cream.”

“I used to love it. My dad and I still went to that parlor a lot after, they had lactose free ice cream. Oh, jeez, I haven’t been there in years. I don’t even know if it’s still open...” Keith trailed off, recalling the happy memory.

After a moment Lance spoke up, “You know, I never really pegged your dad as a motorcycle kind of guy.”

“Yeah, he was really into motorcycles, he was a mechanic.”

“I thought your dad was terrible with cars. Isn’t he in banking?”

Keith stayed quiet.

“Keith? Are you still there?” Lance whispered, hoping for any answer.

“Lance, you’re thinking of Mr.Shirogane. My dad’s…. My dad’s dead, Lance.”

“What? Oh God, I’m so sorry, I didn’t know.”

“You didn’t? He died when we were freshmen.”

“Oh…” Lance paused. He was so wrapped up in himself, he never noticed that the kid he had once seen as a rival just basically... disappear. “I’m-”

“It’s fine. You didn’t know, you couldn’t.”

They both were quiet for quite a while, the seconds ticked by like hours.

“So Shiro… isn’t really your brother?”

“Sort of? Our dads were really close in college. We grew up together. He already saw me as his little brother before I legally became his little brother.”

“You’re adopted?”

“Yes, Lance. I was adopted. Mister and Missus Shirogane were my godparents, and basically my relatives anyway.”

Lance was surprised that he hadn’t figured it out. Shiro and Keith didn’t look the same. And now that he thought about it, he never recalled Keith referring to the Shiroganes as “Mom” or “Dad”. Only by their last name. They didn’t even have the same last name. Wait, did they? It hit Lance that he didn’t know what Keith’s last name was. Without thinking, he said, “Keith, what’s your last name? It’s not Shirogane, is it?”

“Nah, the Shiroganes asked if I wanted to take their last name so I would blend in with them, not be bombarded with questions about why mine was different. I didn’t.”

“So what is it?”

“Kogane.”

Lance liked the sound of it. Kogane. It was cool, unique, like Keith. He also loved it when people had alliterative names.Without really meaning to, he thought of what it would sound like with his name. Lance Kogane. He liked how it sounded in his head.

“Did you say something?” Keith’s tired voice broke the silence.

Or maybe not in his head. “Oh. No. Sorry.” Lance hoped that Keith didn’t notice how obvious his lie was.

“Why are you apologizing? You didn’t do anything.”

Lance paused, “Just a habit I guess. Ah, I’m exhausted. See you tomorrow, night.”

“Oh, okay. Good night then, see you tomorrow.”

Lance hung up. He felt like an idiot. Calling Keith in the middle of the night with no reason other than to talk? What was he thinking? And his stupid slip of the tongue? What if Keith heard him? Because that’s not weird, for someone to ask your last name, then immediately put their first name with it. That’s a thing little girls with crushes do. “Future Mrs. Beiber”, or some other stupid preteen dream boy. Keith probably heard and just didn’t want to be rude and thought he was weird. Why did Lance even think to call Keith? He could have called Hunk, He would have picked up, or called Pidge, she never sleeps anyway. But no, it just felt right to call Keith.

 **Whatever** , he thought. **I’ll deal with it tomorrow**. He put his phone away and tried to sleep but one phrase kept coming back to him,  
**Lance Kogane**  
_**Lance Kogane**_  
_**Lance Kogane**_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm starting school tomorrow. (yay...) So my updates will probably slow down. A lot. Thankfully I have a friend who will actually get me off my ass and make me write. I just about feel my heart implode whenever I see comments, so like, feel free...
> 
> Also if you wanted to know, Lance got Keith's number from Pidge. Don't ask how she got it. 
> 
> And the last four digits of Lance's phone number spell a word. I'm not clever.


	14. In Which I remember I DON'T KNOW HOW TO WRITE ANGST WHAT THE HECK DO I DO

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> LANCE SAD. :(

After two more late night calls, Lance was leaning on the counter, blowing on his now navy blue nails. Pidge stood next to him, fiddling with the computer, which was not working at all. Hunk was downstairs, as always, trying to figure out how to keep it from breaking again. Hint: It involved a lot of duct tape.

Lance was almost done drying his nails when Allura and Shiro waltzed in, hand in hand. Allura was resting her head on Shiro’s shoulder and he looked down at her fondly.

“Ugh. They’re so mushy. Like some kind of fairytale couple. Gross.” Pidge groaned, giving the two lovers a mock disgusted glance before going back to work on the computer.

“You don’t envy them at all? Not even a little?” Lance raised his eyebrows at Pidge, who, a girl at fourteen would typically be boy crazy. Or girl crazy. Lance didn’t care.

“I have things to do, and other people don’t interest me, especially not romantically.”

Lance shrugged, “You do you. I just wish I could have a relationship like that.”

“You probably could, if you wouldn’t just flirt around and sleep with people.”

Lance brushed Pidge’s slightly accusatory tone off “No one feels right, Pidge. It’s just not love.”

“Right enough to have sex with them.” Pidge muttered.

“What? Did you say something?”

“Nope. Nothing at all.”

“I just want love,” Lance draped himself over the counter. “Like actual love.”

Pidge rolled her eyes. “That’s all too sappy for me.”

“I’m never going to find love!” he lamented. “I’m never going to get married, never going to be happy.” He draped his hand over his forehead and sighed in a way that could only be described as melodramatic and ridiculously over the top.

Allura, who had made her way over to the counter and heard Lance’s cry for attention that Pidge was dutifully ignoring, said blissfully, “You don’t find love, it finds you.”

Pidge faked a gag. Lance stood up. He said, “Well when love decides to get its shit together and find me, tell it I’ll be reshelving in the Historical Fiction section.” He walked away as dramatically as possible, nearly tripping over a chair in his theatrics.

Shiro told Allura that he had a book sale to help Coran organize, and she stayed behind to talk to Pidge.

“Do you think Shiro is acting weird?” she asked, “He seems like he’s hiding something.” She leaned over the counter, resting her chin on her palms.

“He seemed normal to me, just as head-over-heels for you as always and still working like crazy. He wouldn’t hide anything from you.” Pidge furrowed her eyebrows and scratched something down on a legal pad next to her, still not looking up from the screen.

Allura hesitated, “Yeah, you’re right, of course you are. He’s such a great guy and it was stupid of me to be suspicious of him”

“I mean, I could check through the surveillance footage, see if he’s acting weird. But on one condition, get some computers that actually fucking work.”

“No, no, I trust him. I’ll see about those computers though, you’ve got a point there.”

“Whatever man, hey, how long have you two been together?”

“Almost eight years. Our anniversary is in October,” she said wistfully.

“Jesus, I was like, five years old eight years ago.”

“We started dating in Freshman year,” Allura paused. “Wait, aren’t you going into ninth grade? Maybe you’ll fall in love then.”

“Doubt it, computers are my one true love.”

“Just wait. You’ll meet someone.”

Keith rounded the corner, and upon seeing that Lance wasn’t at the counter, walked over to Allura and Pidge. “Have you seen Lance? He’s supposed to be here at the register.”

“He’s in Historical Fiction, shelving some books from an old display.” Pidge replied disinterestedly.

“Thanks.” He grumbled, stalking away.

At least Lance was actually doing work...

Or maybe not.

Lance was sitting between the isles, blank-faced. Books were scattered around him, some open, face up, like he dropped them.

Keith rushed to his side, “Lance, are you okay? What’s wrong?”

He snapped to attention, “Yep! Fine!” He chuckled nervously, desperately hoping Keith would believe him.

Keith squinted at him, “Bullshit.”

“I’m fine, I swear. Jeez, chill.” He stood up and brushed himself off, refusing to meet Keith’s eyes.

Keith gave Lance a concerned look, “You sure about that?”

Lance stayed quiet, afraid that opening his mouth would make him cry. His chest felt like it was about to explode.

Keith leaned on one of the bookshelves. “Mmhmm, do you want to talk?”

Lance slid down the shelf slowly. He shook his head.

“You want me to?” Keith sat down next to him, resting his hands on the floor.

Lance nodded, a movement so slight that it could’ve easily been missed.

Keith started his story, “Once upon a time, when I was like, seven, I snuck out of the house, because I was a hardcore seven-year-old. And it wasn’t to do something social, obviously. I was going to hunt… Mothman. This was serious business. I was a pretty naive kid, actually. I didn’t believe in Santa or the Easter Bunny, no, it was obvious to me, _Mothman_ was behind these phenomena. I believed in Mothman and Bigfoot and I was convinced, convinced he lived in the field behind my house.  
“That night, I snuck out the back door, so stealthy, I know. And I sat in the tree in my back yard with my bag of socks, because moths eat fabric, so obviously Mothman would, and my old pretend-police-handcuffs, you know, to catch him. Fool proof, I know. It made sense at the time.  
“I sat in that tree with my DS lite and waited. Of course, at some point, my dad decided to check on his kid, and he flipped the fuck out when I wasn’t there. So he went out, yelling my name out in the field. I had fallen asleep in the tree, and I heard someone yelling my name right under the branch I was sitting on. Being half-asleep, I automatically assumed Mothman was right under my branch and he was trying to get me to come out so he could eat me or something. I grabbed my flimsy handcuffs and jumped down from my branch onto the shadowy figure. And I landed basically right on my dad’s shoulders, which freaked him out, because something just fell out of the tree and landed on him. He started thrashing around like hell and I latched on because my dad was a good six feet tall and that’s really freaking high when you’re a not-even-four-foot-tall kid. And he started yelling and I started yelling then we both just stopped. He just reached up and grabbed me and lifted me off his shoulders. And he just kinda held me there, up in the air and gave me this look like ‘What the actual fuck?’. And he just like, carried me to my bed, tucked me in, and just went to bed. I’m pretty sure he didn’t even sleep, he just laid there, contemplating life. He never brought it up. Maybe he thought it was a dream or something,” Keith sat there, not knowing what to do because he was done with his story.

“Did you ever get the socks?” Lance’s voice was so quiet that Keith could barely hear him.

“What?”

“The socks, did you leave your socks in the tree?”

Keith thought for a bit, “Yeah, I guess I did. There’s just a bag of old socks in that tree. I wonder if it’s still there.”

“Where is it?” Lance asked, looking Keith in the eye for the first time.

Keith looked at Lance, his dark blue eyes looked slightly watery and bloodshot. He took a moment to answer, “Uhh, um Texas.”

“Texas? You lived in Texas?”

“Yeah, I moved here shortly after that happened. My Dad decided he needed to get away.”

“So… You’re Texan?”

“Yes?”

“Cool.” Lance stayed quiet after that. They both did. Lance rested his head on his knees.

It was quiet, but not an uneasy silence, it was comfortable, just enjoying each other’s company.

Lance slowly, shyly took hold of Keith’s hand.

“Thank you,” he whispered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pidge is aro/ace. If that wasn't clear. Also I felt super clever with a thing. The like "tell love to find me" thing. Yeah.


	15. In Which This Becomes A Shallura Fic For Plot Reasons

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is so long. It's like. Wow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is three thousand, one hundred, and sixty-freaking-one words. That's the longest chapter I've written.

That evening, Shiro and Keith were at home. And Shiro was freaking the heck out.

“Keith,” he called up the stairs, “KEITH HAVE YOU SEEN MY TIE? THE GALAXY ONE SHE GOT ME?”

Keith sighed and rolled his eyes, then tromped down to Shiro, who was tearing the cushions off the sofa. “You’re wearing it, dumbass.”

Shiro looked down, to see he was in fact wearing his tie. He took a shallow breath. “Okay. Okay. Thank you. Do I look okay? Is my tie straight? Is my shirt wrinkled?”

“You look fine,” Keith leaned on the doorway to the living room, “Why’re you so nervous? She’s not going to say no.”

“But what if she does? What if she doesn’t like me? What if she thinks we’re too young?”

Keith walked up to Shiro and put a hand on his shoulder, “She won’t. She does. And she won’t. Everything will be fine. You’ve been together for forever.”

Shiro looked at his brother, “Yeah, yeah. You’re right,” he took a deep breath, “I can do this. I can do this? Ican’tdothiswhatamIdoingKeith?”

“You can, and you will. You’ve been planning this night for months. You can’t let it all go to waste. Take a deep breath, and go get engaged!” Keith slapped his brother on the back then gave him a quick hug. “She’ll say yes. Don’t worry.”

Shiro thanked him. His mother walked up to him, and gave him a bone-crushing squeeze, “Oh my little baby, all grown up. Oh I remember when you were in diapers. And now you’re grown up and getting married.”

“Mom, we’re not even engaged yet, stop,” He said, and hugged his mother back.

She let go and stepped back, “You look so handsome. Yuuto, doesn’t he look so handsome?”

His father smiled, “Yes he does,” He stepped forward and put his hand on Shiro’s shoulder, “You’ll be fine, son”

Shiro smiled, “Love you guys. I better get going, it’ll ruin everything if I’m late.”

Mrs.Shirogane took a few pictures, floofed his hair and straightened his tie.

Shiro walked out to his car, bouquet in hand and ring in pocket.

 

* * *

 

Allura was waiting in the lobby of her dorm. Shiro wasn’t late, he would be fifteen minutes early if he arrived right now. But she was ready early as always. She paced the tile floor of the lobby, listening to the satisfying **click click click** of her new heels on the faux-marble. She resisted the urge to bite her perfectly manicured nails, a nervous habit that she had lately been trying to stop doing.

She checked the time,  
**_6:30_**

Her roommate was out, and Allura didn’t have many friends on campus.

The ringing of her phone nearly startled her to death. **Oh _please_ don’t let it be Shiro calling to cancel.**

It was Pidge.

“Hello?”

“Hey Princess? Ready for your big date yet?”

“I’ve been ready for the past hour.”

“Wow. You sound nervous. He’s not late, is he?”

“No, no, something’s just felt weird, like, he seemed really anxious this afternoon when we left the library. Do you think everything’s okay?”

“Yeah, I’m sure It’s all good.”

“OhmyGodKatie, what if he wants to break up with me. What if he got bored of being together for so long? I’ve been his only steady girlfriend, what if he decided he wanted to see other people?”

“I really, really doubt that’s what it is. You don’t need to worry. You’re going to a fancy restaurant with the guy you’ve loved since you were fourteen. Everything will be great, trust me.”

Allura looked up and out the glass door to see a familiar silver Prius pulling into the parking lot. “Okay Katie, he’s here. Thanks. I’ll see you tomorrow.” She hung up and walked outside to wait for Shiro to pull up to the doors.

She strode out of the glass double doors to where Shiro had stopped the car. She looked him up and down, smiling fondly, “You look just like you did when we went on our first date.”

He laughed, “Yeah, I was kind of going for that,” He anxiously rubbed the back of his head.

She smiled and took his hand, “Just as nervous too.” She winked and gave him a peck on the cheek. “Okay, ready to go?”

“Yep” He opened the passenger side door for her.

“And where are we going?”

“Surprise.”

 

* * *

 

Back at home, Keith was awaiting his usual chat with Lance. He had begun to get used to them. It was comforting knowing someone was up as late as him. But it wasn’t even seven. And God forbid he call Lance first. Lance usually called in the very early A.M., so Keith had some time to kill, a lot of time to kill. So he decided to draw.

Keith didn’t draw much anymore, he didn’t think himself too good of an artist, but he didn’t have a brother to pester or any homework to do, it being Summer and all, so he resigned himself to doodling.

 

* * *

 

Shiro and Allura arrived at their destination, a very fancy restaurant. They were seated on a patio outside, surrounded by ivy, lit by candlelight, with a waterfront view.

“Romantic,” Allura said.

“Well anything for you,” Shiro replied through a slight smile, leading her to their table.

They placed their orders. They ordered for each other, it was a tradition whenever they went out.

“Shiro, you seem kind of nervous, is there anything wrong?” Allura reached across the table to take his hand.

“No, I’m just stressed from work,” It wasn’t technically a lie. Wrangling a bunch of moody teenagers was stressful. That just wasn’t his main concern at the moment.

She looked into his eyes and reached across the table to set her hand on his, “You’re not fooling me. But if you don’t want to talk about it, we won’t.”

“So... what do you think of the view of the river from here?”

 

* * *

 

Keith wasted an hour trying to find his good sketch book. Then, after nearly throwing it out the window when he found it under a single old shirt right next to his bed, he started to draw.

He liked drawing places, rather than people. Abandoned buildings, parks reclaimed by nature, usually something eerily empty.

Tonight he wanted to sketch a park. Somewhere calm and quiet. **A place I’d like to be alone**.

He just sat down to start when his phone started ringing, without looking at who it was, he picked it up. “Hello?” Keith said sharply.

“Woah, little hostile, you busy? I can call later if you want.” Lance’s voice said from the other end.

“OH! Nonono, I was just, uh, doing a thing. It’s fine. What’s up?”

“Nothing really, that’s why I called. But if you want to get back to whatever you were doing you can…” he trailed off.

“No, I was just drawing. I’d rather talk to you.”

Keith could hear the smile in Lance’s voice, “Well, what were you drawing?”

Keith looked down at the blank paper, “Just a park or something. Not any one in particular, just somewhere I’d like to go.”

“I never really saw you as an outdoorsy person.”

“I like nature, so I’d like to live in the woods.”

“Yeah, I can see where you’re coming from. But wouldn’t it get lonely?”

“Well obviously I won’t be living there very soon, and I want a family, eventually.”

“Really?” Lance was pretty surprised, he never imagined Keith as a family man.

“Well, yeah, I’d like to get married and adopt a kid or something someday. Would you?”

“Yeah. I would. I kinda really want a relationship.”

“What? With all the, ya know…”

“Jesus, ugh, people always bring that up, yeah, so what if I have sex with people, it’s not a big deal,” he fumed.

“God, sorry, I didn’t mean anything or, I’ll just, sorry.”

Lance took a deep breath. “I know, I just get kind of annoyed. Because people, like, get really judgemental and stuff. I just, I want a long-term relationship, but I don’t feel a connection with anyone. Like, a real one, you know?”

“Yeah, I get that. But you still…”

“It’s not like they don’t know that it’s a one time thing, some people to just want some no-strings-attached sex. It’s always consensual, of course.”

“Well I didn’t think it wouldn’t be.”

“Some people…” He trailed off, not quite finishing the thought. “I do really want an actual girlfriend.” He paused again. “Hey Keith?”

“Hm?”

“Have you ever had a girlfriend? Like, a serious one?”

“No??”

“Really? I’m surprised, you’re like, a really good listener, and you’ve got that mysterious bad-boy vibe. You ride a motorcycle for christ’s sake, how much more sexy could you get?” The word just slipped out. He certainly hadn’t meant to call Keith sexy. **It’s not like he isn’t** , a tiny part of his mind chided. He stumbled over his words. “So, yeah, why haven’t you had a girlfriend?”

Keith didn’t seem to notice, “Oh, well, I don’t know, Lance, probably because I don’t like girls? That might be a part of it.”

Silence.

“Wait… so… you’re like, gay?”

“Is that not what I said? I’m pretty sure that’s what I said, yeah.”

Lance, who had been raised in a rather, behind-the-times household, was completely mind-blown. He’d been raised on the stereotypes that gay guys were the ones who painted their nails and called everyone “hun”. He figured if Keith was gay he would have at least noticed. Or Keith would have flirted with him, to be honest he was sort of offended that Keith _didn’t_ flirt with him.

Meanwhile, Keith was very worried, he figured Lance knew, it wasn’t a secret, but he wasn’t explicit about it either.

Lance sighed, “This has kinda been a trainwreck, hasn’t it? This whole call. I’m sorry, I just messed everything up and, God, sorry.”

“It kind of has, but it’s not your fault. I was jumping on you about sleeping with a bunch of girls. People like you, well, what I assumed you were like, they get on my nerves. Just, people being treated like shit and just the whole, ‘love-them-and-leave-them’ thing. I hate seeing other people being tricked into thinking that they mean more to someone than they really do too.”

“Too?” Lance asked quietly.

“Ah, shit, I was just on a rant there, it’s nothing.”

“It doesn’t sound like nothing.”

“Look, It’s just.. I just… nothing. It really doesn’t matter.”

“Yeah, you may be able to pull that with Hunk, but I’m not going to just pass over it. I’m worried.”

Keith sighed, he really didn’t want to spill his life story, “I mean you know so much about me. I'm really not that interesting. I'm sure you'd rather talk about yourself or your latest one-night-stand.”

“Honestly, right now there's nothing else I’d rather do than listen to you and your stories.”

Keith smiled bitterly, “Fine, but it's not a happy one. Once upon a time, I went to a party,”

Lance supplied an exaggerated gasp.

“I know, I know, shocker. It was the last one I went to before the Fourth of July party. They were kinda ruined for a while after this. So, there was this guy, super hot,”

“Hotter than me?”

“Yes. And almost as big-headed.”

Lance scoffed.

“Anyway. We talked and I’m not going to lie, I’d had a drink or two. I was flirting with him shamelessly. Well, uh, things escalated. There was kissing… and, uh, other stuff that I’m not going into.”

“Thanks.”

“No problem. So then, the an hour or two later, I woke up, alone. He was gone. No note, nothing. I stumbled home, alone, because I didn't want Shiro to see me like that to pick me up. I saw him at school next year. He didn't even bat an eye at me.”

“Woah. Jeez. That was a really shitty thing that that guy did. When was this?”

“End of Freshman year. I was still really messed up because of my dad and I just wanted an escape. It kind of made everything worse.”

“Holy cow, here I was thinking you were some straight-edge guy when you were off drinking and having sex before I’d even kissed a girl!”

“You hadn't had your first kiss by then?” Keith held back a laugh, “I thought you called yourself a ladies man.”

“I had my first kiss! It just, uh, wasn't exactly with a girl…”

Keith was floored, “Uh-huuuh… what?”

“My first kiss was with a boy.”

“Wa-wa-wait. You're telling me, Mr.Lance Mc-fucking-Clain, a very straight boy, kissed a boy.”

“Yes? Sorta?”

“Well I told you my story, so you better explain.”

“I kissed, well, was kissed by a boy. That Summer. At Drama Camp. We put on a short play and had been working really hard and this boy and I had gotten really close. Making jokes, chatting in the wings, goofing off, you know. And then after the show was over, I was just sitting on the stage feeling all sad, and he found me and sat next to me and we talked then he just leaned over and kissed me.”

“Well what did you do?”

“I, uh,” Lance let out an embarrassed chuckle, “I kinda ran away.”

“Oh.”

“What, are you disappointed?

“Well I’m not _surprised_.”

Lance decided to leave out the part where he sat locked in a bathroom stall having an identity crisis because he honestly liked that boy and liked being kissed by him.

“Hey, Lance?” Keith said meekly, “Can I ask you something?”

“Hmm?”

“What happened? Today?”

“Oh, that, I was hoping you wouldn’t ask…”

“Oh, okay! I’m sorry, I won’t bring it up, again.”

“No, no, it’s fine. I just…” He took a deep breath. “Sometimes I just get like that, it doesn’t usually have a specific reason, but today I just got thinking about like, not actually being love loved. I usually kinda play it off and joke about it, but it’s something I think about a lot.”

“I get it. You do that a lot.”

“Do what?”

“Hide things so people don’t worry. You don’t really like to open up to people.”

Lance laughed, “I guess so. You’re actually lucky, I’ve told you more than anyone else knows.”

“I’m truly honored.”

“You should be,” he said jokingly, “I’m very mysterious.”

 

* * *

 

Allura and Shiro made small talk throughout dinner. They both relaxed soon enough. She paid the bill after they rock-paper-scissored for it. They left the restaurant hand in hand. They got into Shiro’s car.

“Where to next?” Allura said with a soft smile.

Shiro grinned. “It’s a surprise.”

“Oooh, very mysterious tonight. I like it.” She winked at him and squeezed his hand. He smiled.

They drove for fifteen minutes then finally arrived at a quaint park. Crickets chirped and lightning bugs were starting to emerge from the trees.

“Wow, this place is beautiful.” Allura said.

Shiro squeezed her hand, “Trust me, it gets better.”

He led her through the trees to a clearing filled with flowers overlooking the river. A bench sat under a weeping willow tree. Next to the tree was a picnic blanket with a bouquet of flowers set on it.

Shiro smiled. The sun was starting to set.

They sat on the blanket and watched the sunset over the water. Allura rested her head on Shiro’s shoulder. He pulled her closer, disregarding the sunset to gaze lovingly at his girlfriend.

“Allura?”

“Hmm?”

“You’ve been my girlfriend for, what, seven years?” He shifted his weight to grab something in his pocket.

“Almost eight.” She gave him a quick peck on the cheek then looked into his eyes “What about it?”

He took her hand in his, “I was thinking…”

“And?”

He pulled a small black box out of his pocket and opened it to reveal a beautiful diamond ring. “Maybe we should change that.”

Allura gasped, her eyes started to well up. “Yes, I think we should.”

 

* * *

 

Meanwhile, Keith and Lance were still talking.

“I feel like something really romantic and seemingly unrelated to the main storyline of my life just happened,” Lance said.

Keith pondered this for a moment. “I dunno, I didn’t feel anything.”

Lance shrugged, “eh, whatever. I’d like something really romantic to happen to me.”

“Maybe it’ll take a while. You need time for a relationship to develop.”

Lance was about to answer when Cleo poked her head into the room. “Lancey-Lance, Mama needs you to pick up Amelia and Hugo from the airport.” Her eyes zipped to the phone in Lance’s hand. “Oooo who ya talking to??”

“No one! Get out of my room!”

She leapt forward and tried to reach for his phone. He held it high over his head. “Is it your boooyfriend?”

“He’s not my boyfriend!”

“Lance? Hello?” Keith’s voice rang out from the phone.

Cleo tickled Lance’s stomach, and in his moment of weakness, she snatched the phone. “Hiiii Keith, this is Cleo, Lance can’t come to the phone right now.”

Lance in fact, couldn’t come to the phone, because the second she stole it, Cleo sprinted to her room and locked the door.

“Uh, hi? What happened to Lance?” Keith asked.

Cleo didn’t see the point in beating around the bush, “I stole it.” She giggled at Lance, who was currently trying to weasel his way through the doggy door in Cleo’s door.

“CLEO GIVE ME MY DA- GOSH DARN PHONE BACK.”

“OOoooo you almost swore!~” She laughed again. “Is there any way to take pictures on this thing?”

“I’m not going to tell you.”

“Oop! Found it!” She snapped a picture of Lance and sent it to Keith.

Keith laughed. “Okay, kid, as funny as he looks right now, you should probably give him his phone back.

Cleo sighed, “Fiiiiine, but can I ask you something?”

“Seeing as I’m not the one stuck in a doggy door, shoot.”

“Do you like Lance?”

“SERIOUSLY CLEO GIVE ME THE PHONE.”

Keith didn’t know what to say. “Uhh, um, no?” Did he? He didn’t know. He didn’t really want to know.

“Oh real believable there, bud. Okaay, I’ll give you back to him, it was nice talking to you!”

Before Keith could answer, Cleo dropped the phone into Lance’s hand. “Cleo I’m going to kill you! Hello? Hello? Keith?”

“Yeah, I’m here, don’t worry.” He sounded nervous.

“Okay, one sec, I need to get myself out of this doggy door. Just- hold on- a sec-”

The line was quiet for a minute, “Okay, I’m back, but not for long, I have to pick up my sister and her boyfriend from the airport.”

“No problem, I can draw while you’re gone.”

“I’ll call back in a bit. Bye.”

“Later.”

They hung up. Keith picked up his sketchbook and started to doodle.

As Keith kept drawing, it became a beautiful riverside picnic area scene. This time it wasn't somewhere he’d want to be alone.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WON'T BE THE LAST TIME LANCE RUNS AWAY FROM HIS FEELINGS. ;););)  
> Also sorry about the like rando Shallura. It's important. For. Future things... yeah.......


	16. In Which Things Get Real Darn Repetitive

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry about this! It's been a while. I got grounded and have had school and swim practice. I'm planning on keeping up with this though!

Keith waited.

And waited

And waited.

He checked his phone.

0 missed calls. 0 unread texts.

He sighed and flopped down onto his bed with a poof.

“Figures,” he mumbled.

The airport wasn't that far from Lance's house. And it had been two hours since they ended the call.

Oh jeez what if something happened.

Keith pushed the thought out of his mind.

I could call him?

No, he said he would call back. He will call back.

 

* * *

 

Lance stared down at his phone and cursed under his breath.

The screen read: out of minutes.

Keith was going to be mad. Worse, his mom was going to be mad, considering not only does she think he hung up on her, but now this meant that she had to buy more minutes.

He couldn't even send a text.

He sighed and drove home, asking Amelia if she could call their mom to explain what happened.

 

* * *

 

Lance was right, his mom was mad. Thankfully, because Amelia called, he was spared the wrath of hanging up on his mother. She was still annoyed about the minutes.

“Lancelot McClain! How did you run down your minutes so much? Were you talking to one of your girlfriends again?”

Cleo poked her head into the kitchen, “No mama, he was talking to his booooyfriend.”

“Cleo!” Lance yelled.

“Cleo, go to bed, it's late.” Lance's mom said tiredly. She turned to him. “Was it that Kenneth kid or something?”

“Keith. And he’s not my boyfriend.”

“Yes. Well I’m not paying for your minutes for another two months. So you can wait or buy it yourself.”

“But Maaama.”

“Nope! And it's about time the lawn gets mown. So you need to do that tomorrow.”

“Fiiiine.”

His mother stood on her tiptoes to give him a quick peck on the cheek, “I love you lots, but stop growing so much! At this rate you'll be towering over your father!”

“Love you too, Mama. Good night.”

Lance trudged up to his room and collapsed on his bed. It wasn't even that late compared to when he usually went to sleep. It had been a draining day. He kicked off his sneakers.

He tried to sleep. But he couldn't get something out of his mind.

He snuck over to Cleo’s room and opened the door slightly. Sure enough, Cleo was wide awake, whispering to Amelia.

“Hey Cleo?” He whispered.

She turned to him, “Yeah, Lancey-Lance?”

“Can I talk to you?”

“Go ahead.”

“Alone.”

She grumbled, “Fine,” then turned to Amelia, “Sorry Amy, annoying younger cousin duty calls.”

“It's okay, chica. I'm going to finish unpacking then go right to bed. I'm jet-lagged as anything.”

Cleo hopped off her bed quietly then walked out to the hall. “What do you want? I'm talking to the cool cousin.”

“ _Now_ you are. But I had a question.”

“Go.”

“What did Keith say?”

“What do you mean?”

He rolled his eyes. “You know what I mean.”

She gave him a blank look.

Lance sighed, “When you asked him if he liked me.”

“Oh… OH! You do care!”

“What. did. he. Say.”

She pondered for a moment, “No.”

Lance’s face fell for just a moment, “Oh. Okay. That’s good, because I don’t like him and I would feel bad if he did and I don’t even like guys and it would be awkwa-”

Cleo’s tired voice stopped Lance’s ramblings abruptly, “Can I go now?”

“Oh, uh yeah. Night, kiddo.”

“G’night, Lance.”

Lance trudged back to his room reminding himself that it was a good thing that Keith didn’t like him.

 

* * *

 

Eventually, Keith gave up. He figured Lance just forgot or something.

He decided to try to sleep.

Unsurprisingly, he couldn’t. His mind kept bringing up Cleo’s question.

_“Do you like Lance?”_

Over and over.

_“Do you like Lance?”_

_“Do you like Lance?”_

He tried to push the thought out of his head. Keith did have a habit of toying with the idea of what it would be like to date different people, what kind of relationship, where they’d go, that sort of thing. **This is just one of those times. I don’t like him, I’m just tricking myself into thinking that I could.**

_“Do you like Lance?”_

Keith sighed and rolled over. He tossed and turned before checking the clock.

**10:30 p.m.**

Much earlier than he would’ve normally gone to bed. That must’ve been why he couldn’t sleep.

_“Do you like Lance?”_

**No I don’t.**

He decided that music might help him calm down. He clicked on the soundtrack to his favorite musical of the week, Heathers. “Candy Store” always cheered him up.

It was in vain. Keith felt like he was going crazy.

_“Do you like Lance?”_

**No.**

_“Do you like Lance?”_

**No. I can’t. I won’t. I don’t.**

_“Do you like Lance?”_

**He’d never like me back. He’s straight. I won’t let myself like him.**

_“Do you like Lance?”_

**It’s my choice, I don’t, I don’t, I don’t.**

_“Do you like Lance?"_

**Not again. Never again.**

Keith didn’t get much sleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Fact: Lance has a Tracfone.  
> Fun Fact: Lance's Mom 100% knew Keith's name. She just wanted Lance to admit it.


	17. In Which The Hint of an Inner-Library Gambling Ring Starts to Show

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SORRY ABOUT THE GAP. I'VE BEEN BUSY WITH SCHOOL. AND I GOT MY COMPUTER TAKEN AWAY  
> I'M VERY VERY TIRED

The next morning, Keith came in early with Shiro, who was giddy because _He was engaged, Keith ENGAGED, to the most beautiful, wonderful person on the planet and they were getting married._

By the time they had arrived at the library, Keith was completely done with Shiro’s gushing. He made an excuse to go do something _Wow, look at that, there’s a book that’s crooked over there, okay bye._

He stood behind the counter. Well, less “stood behind” and more “almost completely laid down on”. Needless to say, the previous night’s restlessness combined with waking up late and not having time to grab coffee left Keith nearly catatonic.

“Hey man, looking pretty tired there, you okay?”

Keith managed a groan and waved his hand in the general direction of the question.

Lance walked up next to him, “Well, I just so happened to accidentally order an extra coffee on my way here, in case you wanted it.”

“Dairy?” he mumbled, barely looking up.

“Maybe?” Lance examined the coffee as if he could tell whether or not it would give Keith stomach cramps to high heaven.

Keith grabbed the cup and chugged it, “I hope it kills me.”

“Did you just- that was- How did you not burn your tongue off?”

“The real question is how you drink that stuff. It was so sugary that I could barely taste the coffee.”

Lance shrugged, “It’s just how I drink my coffee.”

Keith laid back down on the counter, “thanks anyway,” he eyed Lance’s now empty hands, “wait, I thought you ordered extra.”

“It looked like you needed it a lot more than me.” He leaned on the counter, next to Keith, who was laying face-down. “Sorry, by the way, about not calling you back. My phone ran out of minutes.”

“It’s fine, I guess. I had some thinking to do.”

“I got you a thing, to, uh, make up for it.”

“Hm?” Keith pushed himself up to just lean on the counter instead of lay on it.

Lance produced a medium sized cardboard box from behind his back and laid it on the counter. “Open it up.”

Keith flipped open the flaps of the box to reveal a neon orange mass of foam. He pulled it out of the box.

“Is this a freaking... cowboy hat?” Keith asked.

It was a freaking cowboy hat. A neon orange freaking cowboy hat. With a neon blue ribbon and a foam star on the front. The star had “YEE-HAW” written on it in red puff paint.

Lance smiled mischievously, “I made it myself.”

“This is the second ugliest thing I’ve ever seen.”

“Wait, second? What trumps this?”

“The state of our country’s political system.”

“‘Kay…. Well you don’t have to wear it if you don’t want to.”

“No way. I’m wearing this for the rest of my life. Is there some way to keep it on my head?”

“There’s an elastic thing. On the-”

“Found it.” Keith tied the string under his chin. “How do I look?”

Lance snorted, “Fabulous. C’mon, there’s some books in the return.”

They went to the box of books from the return, joking along the way.

Eventually, Pidge and Hunk turned up. The latter immediately scurried to the basement to fiddle with the ever-broken A/C.

“What the fuck is that hat even?” Pidge asked the moment that she laid eyes on Keith’s hat.

“Beautiful and awesome and Lance made it so ask him.” Keith said.

“It’s an expression of my inner turmoil and suffering.” Lance added.

Pidge raised an eyebrow, “It’s brighter than my future.”

“Also Keith’s from Texas. That’s why it’s a cowboy hat.”

Pidge supplied a noncommittal grunt then walked away.

 

* * *

 

The library was dull as usual. Until a Summer Rec. group burst through the door. Kids flooded the library and grabbed and dropped books at random. Keith immediately took off the hat, which he had almost forgotten that he was wearing. Most of those kids looked middle-school age, middle-schoolers are ruthless.

Keith sighed exasperatedly, “This is going to take forever to clean up.”

Lance leaned back on the counter, while waving his left hand in the air, trying to dry his now sky blue nails, “We’ll deal with it when they leave, no point in cleaning it up when all these kids’ll just mess it up again. Can you help paint my right hand?”

“Yeah, sure.”

 

* * *

 

After the gaggle of kids left, Keith and Lance stood at the entrance to the children’s section. It looked like a tornado flew through. A tornado filled with screaming children.

“This is going to take forever,” Keith grumbled.

Lance elbowed him lightly, “I bet I can shelve more than you.”

“What’s the wager?”

“I win, I get to paint your nails, you win, uh… I dunno, what do you think?”

Keith pondered, “Uh, well, I want to get out of the house and away from Shiro for a while so like, buy me a fro-yo from the store down the street.”

“Sounds good. But you’re not getting that fro-yo, man.”

“Okay,”

“Three”

“Two”

“One”

“GO!”

They both took off running around the Kid’s section, grabbing books and carefully stuffing them on the shelves, ordered properly, of course.

In total it took them about fifteen minutes to fix the entire section.

Keith walked over to Lance, “How many did you put away?”

“Twenty-one, beat that.”

Keith laughed, “Twenty-two, I did beat that.”

Lance groaned, “Why do I get myself into these messes?” he sighed, “Okay, okay, I’ll get you fro-yo.”

Keith smiled, “You know, I’m feeling generous today. I’ll let you paint my nails too.”

“Oh wow, how kind. I’m honestly touched," he said, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

They headed back to the counter.

Lance headed into the break room and grabbed his bag. He started to rifle through it. “What color do you want?”

“Why do you just tote that all around?”

“Cleo steals ‘em. I’ve lost many a color to her sticky fingers. What color?”

“Pick for me, I don’t care.”

Lance poked around a little while longer. Then pulled out a bottle of candy apple red. “You like red, right? I don’t even use this color.”

Keith glanced over, “Yeah, that’ll work.”

“Okay, now gimme your hand.”

Keith absent-mindedly gave Lance his hand, resting his chin on the other. He let his mind wander.

Once he was sufficiently zoned out, Lance spoke, “You can, uh, stop staring at me at any time.”

Keith’s mind popped back into focus, “Oh, sorry. I was totally zoned out.”

His mind wandered again. Glancing at Lance. Without really realizing, he thought about how cute he looked focused. His eyebrows scrunched together slightly and he stuck his tongue out just a little. Keith realized and fixed his eyes on a nearby display. Some mystery books that had come in a week or so ago. He let his mind wander once again.

_“Do you like Lance?”_

**Not this shit again.**

Before his mind could start “this shit” Shiro emerged from the basement smiling like a big goof. He saw Lance and Keith and rolled his eyes, but his smile didn’t fade. “So I see you’ve corrupted Keith.” He said fondly.

“It was inevitable. No one can resist my charm.” Lance grinned and winked.

Keith shrugged, “What can I say? I’m a sucker for, Lance what color is this?”

“Candy apple.”

“I’m a sucker for Candy apple nail polish.”

Shiro rolled his eyes, “You two are lucky I’m in such a good mood today.”

“Yeah, why is that? Usually by now you would have exasperatedly asked if I ever actually did any work,” Lance said, “Other hand.”

Keith switched hands, “God, don’t get him started.”

Shiro beamed, his eyes glinted with excitement, “Well if you _must_ know…” He paused for dramatic effect, “Allura and I got engaged last night.”

Lance looked up, “Woah, really? Good for you guys. When’s the wedding?”

“We haven’t decided, but probably October sixteenth, eight-year anniversary of when we officially started dating.”

“Cute.”

They continued to chat about weddings and all that mushy stuff while Keith made exaggerated gagging motions and Lance chided him because, _I already finished painting that hand, mister, and if you mess it up I’m not fixing it._

Shiro eventually left to tell Pidge, whose response was something along the lines of, _Crap now I owe Hunk ten bucks._

Lance finished painting Keith’s nails. They were leaning on the counter silently while Keith blew furiously on his nails.

Something struck Lance, he elbowed Keith in the side, “Toldja something romantic happened last night.”

“I guess you were right,” Keith said between puffs of air.

Lance sighed, “I’m happy for them those two nerds are cute together. I want a relationship like that.”

“Who doesn’t?”

“Pidge, but still. I’m sorta jealous-”

“-Envious”

Lance sighed, “ ** _Envious_**. Do you ever feel like you’ll be alone forever?”

“Yeah, but dude, we’re, what sixteen-”

“-almost seventeen.”

“That’s still sixteen. We’ve got time.”

“They met when they were fourteen!”

“One, they met when they were twelve, I’d know because Shiro would. not. shut. up about the pretty girl in his math class. He talked so much about her that I still remember and I was four, Lance, _four_. Two, they’re an outlier and shouldn’t be counted.”

Lance did that little nose-laugh thing and didn’t reply. Keith continued to blow on his nails while he drove himself crazy over a simple question, wondering why he couldn’t just move on.

**I’ve already decided I don’t like him. You can shut up now.**

 

* * *

 

The day trickled by. Finally, they were allowed to leave, five minutes early, actually.

“Dang, Shiro should get engaged every day,” Lance said.

Keith groaned, “I don’t think I could stand it. He’s been so gushy and romantic.”

They walked to the fro-yo place, they walked so close their knuckles touched, with each brush electricity went up Keith’s arm.

**Calm down, seriously. I don’t like him, he doesn’t like me.**

**Why would he walk this close if he didn’t like you?**

**I’m reading too much into this. He doesn’t like guys, I don’t like him. So stop.**

“Penny for your thoughts?” Lance asked.

“You’d be paying too much. I’m just thinking about cryptids.”

“Mothman?”

“Bigfoot, nice try though.”

Their hands brushed again. Keith looked away so Lance couldn’t see him blush.

**Can you maybe not, brain?**

Keith shoved his hand into his pocket.

Lance glanced at him, a flicker of disappointment crossed his face. “What’re you going to get?”

“They switch out their dairy-free options a lot, so it’s a surprise,” He shrugged, “What about you?”

“Chocolate.”

“You do realize there are toppings, right?”

“I’m a simple man, Keith.”

“Okay, you do you, I guess.”

 **Or you** , Lance thought.

**Or maybe you could not do that, me, thanks.**

Lance looked at Keith, whose hand was buried in his pocket. **I would’ve liked to hold that hand.**

**No you wouldn’t’ve. You’re straight. Girls girls girls.**

They arrived at the fro-yo place. It was one of those places where you paid by weight and made your own personal sundae.

“Go crazy, it’s on me.” Lance said.

“Sweet!”

Keith ran off, he looked like a kid in a candy store, or, well, a teen in a fro-yo store.

Lance smiled softly.

 

* * *

 

After a good ten minutes, Keith had crafted his perfect concoction of various fruit-based toppings. And Lance got his chocolate ice cream, and the number of the employee at the counter.

Keith sighed as he watched Lance flirt with the unsuspecting girl. His raspberry fro-yo suddenly tasted sour. He poked at it with his spoon, eyeing the girl working register. She was conventionally pretty, but not outstanding, just Lance’s type.  
Lance eventually sauntered over, “Ready to go?”

Keith got up abruptly, “Yeah, let’s head out.”

They left the shop and dawdled a little outside.

“Do you need a ride home?” Lance asked, “I could give you one.”

“No.” **Yes**.

Lance shuffled his feet awkwardly, “You’re mad.”

“I’m not mad.”

“Now you’re mad and a liar.” Lance examined Keith's face as if he could glean his innermost thoughts by a thorough look at his cheekbones,  **Damn, he has nice cheekbones.**

Keith didn’t say anything. He refused to make eye contact.

“It was something I did, wasn’t it? I’m sorry.”

Keith ran his hand through his hair, “It’s not you. I’m just, mad.”

“Was it the flirting thing?”

“Lance, I’m not so hung up on every little thing you do. I don’t care who you flirt with or whatever. Do your own thing, I’ll do mine,” he snapped.

Lance took a step back, “Yeah, okay. You sure you don’t need a ride?”

“Yes. See you tomorrow.”

“Yeah, tomorrow.”

Keith turned around and walked in the opposite direction, toward his house.

Lance watched him go for longer than he would’ve liked to admit, guilt solidifying in the pit of his stomach.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Keith kept the hat, it's in his room.  
> Lance gets his coffee with four creams and three sugars. Vanilla flavor shot, pumkin spice in the fall.  
> They live in America, by the by.  
> Lance only got red nail polish for Christmas-themed nails. He never uses it.
> 
> Also, for some reason I felt really poetic or something when editing this chapter. Weird.


	18. In Which Keith AlmOST DIES

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Oh no, major character death, I should've tagged that. JKJK, I'm not that heartless, Keith's still gotta be alive when Lance fucks everything up. Uhh.... Spoilers? For something I haven't uploaded yet? heh

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SO HECKING HAPPY BECAUSE PEOPLE LEAVE COMMENTS AND KUDOS AND I'M SO HAPPY. YAY.  
> ALSO HUNK'S DEFINITION OF BI VS. PAN IS MINE AS WELL AND I TRIED TO KEEP IT SIMPLE, IF YOU DISAGREE WITH IT, THEN PLEASE BE POLITE, I'M NOT VERY WELL EDUCATED ON... ANYTHING???

Keith’s foul mood seemed to follow him for the next few days. He was either very distracted or mildly annoyed. He looked like he was getting less and less sleep. He avoided Lance at all costs.

Due to the fact that Keith hadn’t been very social as of late, Lance was hanging out with Hunk in his “Maintenance Room”, which was an old broom closet, a big one, but still a broom closet.

“-And I just don’t get what’s up with him. He’s been acting all grumpy and distant and weird and we were just getting to be good friends. I feel like I messed up.” Lance grumbled.

“It’s probably nothing to do with you, I wouldn’t worry about it,” Hunk put his feet up on the foldable table he set up. “Besides, your birthday’s tomorrow. You should look forward to that.”

“Yeah, I should! Speaking of my birthday, what’re you getting me?” Hunk was the best at birthday gifts.

“You know I’m not telling you. What kind of cake do you want?”

“Blue.”

“Shocking.”

“How’s Shay been doing?” Lance asked.

“Oh! Yeah! Well, while she- er- they, were, or would it be was?, with one of their host families, Shay realized that they identified as non-binary. They told me that was kinda the reason they wanted to leave, ‘self-discovery’ and stuff.”

“Oh, did Shay want to break up?”

“What? No! We’re still together, I don’t care what gender they identify as or don’t identify as, I love Shay, that’s not going to change.”

“So… you’re not straight?”

“I never was?”

Lance sat up and stared at Hunk confusedly, “What?”

“I’m pan, Lance. Pansexual.”

“So you like pans?”

Hunk was very tolerant of Lance’s question, “No, pansexual is to be attracted regardless of gender, not to be confused with bisexual, which is attraction to all genders with a preference to a certain one.”

“Why didn’t you tell me this?”

Hunk chuckled, “Well I just figured it out recently, for one, and two, I forgot.”

“You forgot. To tell your best friend. That you liked more than just girls.”

“Yes?”

Lance flumped back down on his chair, “I mean, I haven’t been spending a ton of time with you, so I kind of deserve this.”

“It’s my fault I forgot to tell you.”

They sat in silence.

“Are we still bros?” Lance asked.

“Of course, bro. Why wouldn’t we be?”

“Because I’m terrible.”

“Bro… that’s not true. You’ve been hanging out with Keith, but I’ve been busy too, so I don’t mind. You’re allowed to have more than one friend.”

“Yeah, I guess you’re right. Thanks for putting up with my crap all the time.”

“It’s what friends do.”

They kept talking idly, until Lance decided that he should probably actually do some work. And the A/C broke again, so Hunk had to go.

 

* * *

 

Keith’s eyes flicked over to Lance, who was leaning on the wall scrolling through his Instagram feed.

**Stop it, me.**

He sighed and leaned on the counter. The day was just as slow as usual.

“Hey Keith?” Lance was looking at him, eyebrows furrowed.

 **Crap.** “Yeah?”

“What’s wrong?”

Keith’s heart started to beat a little faster, “Nothing.” He tried to sound casual.

“You’ve just been avoiding me recently, and I miss talking to you.”

“Oh.” His voice cracked, “Well I’m just- uh… I don’t know.”

“Because I feel like I messed up.”

“You didn’t.”

“You’re not mad at me?”

“No, I’m just being emo and stuff, gotta keep up the facade.”

Lance stepped forward, to stand next to Keith, “That mean we can talk again?”

“Yeah.”

Lance smiled softly, “I’m glad.”

They locked eyes. Keith could’ve sworn Lance was leaning closer.

Lance stepped back as if pulled by a string, “Welp, good talk, I think I heard a book fall in the return, so I’m going to.. go get that.. now.”

He ran off.

Keith stood still, dazed. **What just happened?**

**He was going to kiss you, that’s what.**

**No he wasn’t. You must’ve imagined it. Get back to work.**

Keith wandered off to go check lists of overdue books and ponder what just happened.

 

* * *

 

Lance, meanwhile, was locked in the bathroom.

**What did I just do?**

**I don’t even know.**

**What’s wrong with me? What did I do?**

His heart raced. He put his head in his hands.

**I need to talk to Hunk.**

Lance rushed downstairs. Hunk was crouched down at the A/C, waving his butt in the air and listening to some pop song from the radio.

“Hunk I need to talk to you you.”

Hunk didn’t look up, “About what?”

“I’M CONFUSED.”

“You have to tell me what you’re confused about first, bro.”

“ME.”

“And?”

“I don’t know.”

Hunk looked up from his work, “That’s not very helpful.”

Lance sat against the wall, “I feel weird.”

“Are you sick? Do you need some Tylenol?” Hunk looked concerned.

“No, I’m fine, I just, I think I might like someone?”

“Who?”

Lance stood up, “You know what, nevermind. I can figure it out.”

Hunk stood up too, “Are you sure?”

“Yeah.”

Hunk examined Lance’s face, “Okay, just, if you want to actually tell me what’s up, you know where to find me.”

“Yeah.” Lance headed back upstairs. He just had to regain his cool.

Keith wasn’t at the counter, but a cute girl had entered the library. Lance didn’t recognize her from school, so he figured she went to the nearby private school. Once she came up to the counter, Lance started flirting.

 

* * *

 

Keith had just come out of the office, he saw Lance flirting and stepped the fuck back in. He sat down at a desk. He groaned and slumped in the chair. Keith grabbed his phone out of his pocket and looked through his albums until he found his latest musical obsession, The Book of Mormon. He hit shuffle.

After a few songs, “Turn It Off” started playing and it instantly put him in a better mood. It’s a terrible message, but it’s a fun song. He flipped through some old files and started inputting the information to the electronic database.

He danced around in his chair and hummed along to the song, unaware of his surroundings, unaware of Lance leaning in the doorway.

 **Wow, he’s cute,** Lance thought.

**Woah woah woah, where did that come from?**

**Wonder what he’s listening to. I feel like I’ve heard it before.**

Lance smiled slightly.

**Should I ask?**

**But I kinda just wanna watch…**

**Just for that brain, I’m interrupting him.**

He tapped Keith on the shoulder, almost startling him out of his chair.

Keith desperately grabbed at his phone and paused the music, he pulled out an earbud. “Can I help you?” he said in the most casual voice he could muster.

Lance stepped back and gave a small smile, “Whatcha listenin to?”

“Oh, er, Book of Mormon, “Turn It Off” it’s a fun song.”

Lance smirked, “Seemed like it.”

“Have you heard it?”

“Yeah, I think I heard part of it or something, I downloaded the album, I just haven’t listened to it yet.”

“It’s good. Do you want to listen to it now? Just the one song, I mean.” Keith held out his earbud.

“Yeah sure, why not?” Lance stepped forward and took the earbud. He kneeled next to the chair.

“No, uh wait,” Keith scooted over, “We can, uh, share.”

“Oh, okay.” Lance sat on the chair next to Keith. They were so close that their legs touched. Lance could smell the shampoo Keith used. Keith seemed really tense.

Before he could ask, Keith hit the play button and the song started.

He was right, it was a fun song, Lance especially liked the “find the box that’s gay and CRUSH IT.”

A few more songs started to play and they let them go on. Keith was warm against Lance, and with the A/C that was working a little too well, it was nice. Soon enough, they had scooched closer. Lance had wrapped her arm behind Keith, pulling him closer.

Keith looked at Lance who seemed to have zoned a little.

**He’s freaking cute, you can’t deny it.**

Keith felt very comfortable and calm with Lance this close. He was warm and strong. Keith was starting to feel really sleepy. He leaned his head on Lance’s shoulder, who looked down in surprise, then smiled.

A sharp _**Ding!**_ pierced the air, startling them both, Lance stood up, “Fuck.” He glared in the direction of the counter.

This sharp movement caused the rickety chair to fall, taking Keith with it. Lance grabbed Keith’s arm and pulled him up just before he fell. “Woah, you okay?”

They were so close. Lance hadn’t let go of Keith’s arm.

“Yeah, thanks,” Keith said, breathless.

They didn’t move.

_**Ding!** _

“Oh, uh, I’ll go get that,” Lance said awkwardly before rushing off to attend to whoever was at the counter.

Keith stood still. **That was a rush. I almost died. Well, not really, but he saved me from getting a pretty bad bruise. He’s so heroic like that.**

The files Keith had been sorting got knocked off the desk when he was falling and he slowly started to pick them up.

_“Do you like Lance?”_

**I can’t.**

_“Do you like Lance?”_

**I won’t.**

_“Do you like Lance?”_

**I don’t, I don’t, I don’t.**

_“Do you like Lance?”_

“I do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Fact #1: Hunk and Lance started calling each other bro for irony, then it evolved.  
> Fun Fact #2: Lance hides from his feelings in the bathrooms, because everyone knows that emotions hate toilets.  
> Fun Fact #3: The girl Lance flirted with turned out to be a lesbian.  
> Fun Fact #4: Keith gave Lance his right earbud, and Lance sat on his right. They were very close.  
> Fun Fact #5: The person ringing the bell was a very small child. Those things are annoying.


	19. In Which Lance Becomes the Dancing Queen

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks so so much for reading! You people are so amazing! I'm so grateful for the comments you leave.   
> I finally have an idea for an ending and a rough idea about the rest of the things that'll happen.  
> Y'all might not like some of the things.  
> But, like how you can't make a cake without breaking a few eggs, you can't write a love story without breaking a few hearts.  
> AND I SURE WILL LIKE MESSING WITH YOU. >:D

The next morning was pretty normal, aside from the fact that Hunk was late. Lance and Keith were wandering around, fixing books. Pidge was fiddling with a computer that was malfunctioning. Shiro was in his office with Coran discussing budgeting and fundraisers.

A few minutes just before opening the library, Hunk appeared carrying a bright blue cake with seventeen candles, unlit. He saw Lance at the counter and called out, “Happy Birthday, Bro!” He rushed over and plunked it on the counter in front of Lance. “I’m sorry I can’t light the candles, I couldn’t find the lighter.”

Lance grinned, “This is great, I love it, you’re the best, Hunk.” Lance hugged Hunk.

Pidge popped out of her office, lighter in hand. She flicked it on. “I smelled cake.”

“Why do you have a lighter?” Lance asked.

“Why _don’t_ you?” She shot back.

Lance and Hunk shrugged. Pidge stepped forward and examined the cake. “You really went all out this year.”

The frosting was galaxy patterned on top with bright blue icing on the sides and navy frosting spelling out, “Happy Birthday, Bro!!” With a little line under the exclamation points to make it a smiley face.

Hunk pulled out some paper plates, “Before we dig in, we should probably summon the others.”

“You make them sound like demons, jeez. I’ll go get Keith, Pidge, you get Shiro and Coran.”

“Okay, birthday boy.” Pidge said, then sauntered away, flicking her lighter on and off.

“She’s going to burn the library down,” said Hunk.

“Probably. See you in a sec,” He walked away to get Keith, who was fixing a display in the kid’s section, because somehow one of the books was stuck on the ceiling fan.

“Hey, Keith, Hunk made a cake. Do you want a piece?”

“Dairy?”

“He always bakes with lactose free ingredients.”

Keith hopped up and waved his arm at the ceiling fan. “Yeah then,” **_hop_** “I just gotta,” _**hop**_ “get this.”

Lance stepped forward, “Hmm.” He stood on his tiptoes and reached his arm up, his fingers just barely grazed the fan. “I could pick you up.”

“I doubt that you could.”

“I totally could.”

Keith shook his head “Nuh-aAH!” Suddenly he was about a foot off the ground.

“You’re even lighter than I thought.” Lance said.

“Put me doooown.” Keith wiggled around.

“Get the book first.”

“Fine.” Lance carried him over and Keith grabbed the book. “Now put me down.”

“But this is so fun!”

“I’m going to kick your knees!”

“Okay, okay, spare the knees, I need those.” He set Keith down. “That wasn’t even difficult.”

“I could still pick you up.”

“No way.”

“Considering I already have before, I bet I still could.”

Lance looked at Keith confusedly, “When?”

“You remember that night when you got super drunk?”

“No, but I remember the hangover.”

“Well you hurt your ankle. And I carried you to your car.”

“You couldn’t.”

Keith was getting frustrated, “I cradled you in my arms!”

“Nope, don’t remember, didn’t happen.”

“Well I could still do it.”

“Pfft, You can try.” Lance raised his arms.

Keith walked over and scooped Lance up in his arms, mostly out of spite, he looked him directly in the eye, “Suck it.”

Lance’s face reddened, “Yeah, well, I bet you can’t carry me all the way back to the counter.”

Keith rolled his eyes, “You wanna bet?”

“Last time I did, you got food out of it.”

“Yes, so we should totally bet, mind you, I’m still holding you right now, so I might not be able to make it,” Keith could totally do it, but he wanted to win food.

Lance grumbled, “Fine, we’ll decide what the prize will be later. I want cake.” He wrapped his arm around Keith and pointed out, “Onward, my steed!”

Keith adjusted Lance in his arms and walked with relative ease back to the counter, everyone else was already there.

Pidge glanced at them and leaned over to whisper something at Hunk who stifled a laugh and swatted her arm.

Shiro raised an eyebrow, “And the birthday boy has arrived,”

Keith looked down at Lance, “Wait it’s your birthday?”

“Yeah, you didn’t know?”

“No?”

Lance shrugged, “I guess I forgot to tell you. You win, you can set me down now.”

Keith pretty much dropped Lance, “Aack!”

Lance walked up to the cake, “Okay, let’s get this party started!”

Shiro lit the candles with the lighter he confiscated off of Pidge. They sang “Happy Birthday”, off-key, as per tradition. Lance blew out the candles and they cut the cake. They passed it out.

While they were eating, they all talked, once they’d pretty much all finished, it was present time.

“Aww you guys, you shouldn’t have!” Lance said.

Shiro gave him a card and a simple watch that he and Allura picked out. Coran gave him some weird foreign candies. Pidge gave him a card made of lined paper and permanent marker that said, “youre old. conglaturation.”, you know, for the memes. It also had $17 inside. And Hunk not only gave him a cake but got him a FREAKING RAD SUPER SOAKER.

All this made Keith feel increasingly bad. He hadn’t gotten Lance a gift, he didn’t even know it was his birthday.

Everyone cleared out eventually, the remains of the cake were put in the fridge. Keith sighed. “I’m really sorry about not getting you a gift.”

“Really, Keith, it’s not a problem, I didn’t expect them to get me anything.”

“No, I have to get you something. You know that movie that came out today?”

“The emoji one?”

“Yeah, that one. I’m going to buy you tickets for that. And snacks.”

“You don’t have to.”

But Keith was already determined to do this.

Lance smiled, “Well you have to go too.”

“What? Why?”

“You won the bet. So I’m getting you a ticket.”

“Fine, but I’m paying for snacks.”

Lance shrugged, “Suit yourself.”

“We’ll go tomorrow night?” Keith asked.

“Yeah, sure.”

They continued to chat throughout the afternoon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Fact: Children's antics are very good at advancing the plot.  
> Fun Fact: Pidge put that book up there because Keith ate the last cookie that Hunk made. She's petty.  
> Fun Fact: Pidge whispered GAAAAAAAY  
> Fun Fact: Lance wears the watch that Allura and Shiro got him everyday.


	20. In Which This Isn't A Date, Right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M SORRY  
> I'D MAKE EXCUSES BUT TBH IT WAS WRITER'S BLOCK AND ALSO I JUST COULDN'T EVEN FIND THE WILL TO UPLOAD.  
> WOW LIFE IS FUN. BUT I'M OVER MY WRITER'S BLOCK AND I HAVE A PLAN FOR WHAT COMES NEXT, I'M SURE YOU'LL LIKE IT.  
> OR MAYBE YOU WON'T.  
> SUCKS TO BE YOU.  
> jk i love all of you that have read this. i never even intended for this to get even noticed and now 101 kudos. which isn't a loooot but every time i see that there's a like or comment my heart swells. now i feel cheesy. enjoy this not-date.

The next afternoon Keith was lying face down on his bed. “What have I done?”

Shiro, who was disinterestedly flicking through the pictures on his phone, “You asked your friend to the movies.”

“I know!” Keith squawked. “What am I going to do?”

“Go to the movies? What’s the problem?”

Keith mumbled something into his pillow.

“Wow, thanks that sure did clear things up,” Shiro snarked.

“Ugh, fine, it’s Lance.”

“I thought you didn’t hate each other anymore?”

“We never hated each other, but the problem is that I _don’t_ hate him...” he trailed off then whispered, “kind of the opposite?”

Shiro was quiet for a few seconds, “You… like him? Is that what you mean?”

“Maybe.”

“YOU DO! HAH!” Shiro jumped up and danced around, “I’m telling Allura. Wait, crap, I owe Pidge twenty bucks.”

Keith lept off his bed and tried to grab at Shiro’s phone, “No! Don’t tell anyone!”

Shiro held the phone above his head, “Get taller, kiddo.”

“I hope you enjoyed having shins.” Keith said before launching into a vicious assault on his brother’s lower legs.

“Hah-ha! You’ve already done that so many times it doesn’t even- urk!” his gloating was quickly cut off by a punch to the gut, courtesy of Keith.

Keith grabbed Shiro’s phone, “Damn it!” The text was already sent.

Shiro tackled Keith to the floor, who yelled, “Get off me!”

“Gravity says no.”

Keith squirmed around for a few minutes, until Shiro got up because Allura was calling him so he left to go to his room.

Keith laid on the floor, **Well now the library knows.** Because Allura would tell Pidge, who would tell Hunk, but if Keith was lucky, Hunk would be nice enough to not tell Lance.

Keith angsted a little while longer before picking himself up, thinking, **I’d better get dressed, can’t go out in my pajamas.** Even though his pajamas were pretty much exactly what he wore, just with a few more stains on the shirt and sweat shorts instead of regular shorts.

He had no idea what to wear. His phone buzzed.

  * Lance: Are we going to eat out? And do you want to meet there or should I pick you up?
  * You: your choice
  * Lance: I choose yes to eating. What time should I pick you up?
  * You: uh whenever. just tell me when you leave so i know when to wait
  * Lance: Well I’m on my way out now. See you in a few.



Keith stared at his phone. This was starting to feel a lot more date-ish than expected. **You’re reading too much into this. You’ve had dinner together before.**

**Yeah, I know, it’s just a friend thing, bros being bros.**

Keith wandered down the hall to Shiro’s room. Shiro had finished talking to Allura. Keith knocked.

“Come in!”

Keith entered, Shiro was at his desk with his glasses on, doing homework.

“Shiro help.”

Shiro didn't even turn. “What.”

“I need to get dressed.”

“You can do it yourself, I believe in you.”

“I don't know what to wear.”

Realizing that Keith wasn't going to leave, Shiro decided to help. “Well, it's not a date, so you don't have to dress up. When's he leaving?”

“He said he was leaving… two minutes ago?”

Shiro sighed and pushed his glasses up his nose. “Is he picking you up?”

“Yes. I’ve got like, thirty minutes.”

Shiro put his face in his hands, “You _sure_ this isn’t a date?”

“Yes! Now help!”

They walked back to Keith's room. Shiro rummaged through Keith's dresser while Keith sat on his bed anxiously.

“Just wear what you normally do. But jeans instead of shorts. The theater is cold. And maybe that red beanie mom got for you. Are beanies still cool? And some of those bracelets you never wear. And maybe your converse. Are those still cool?”

“Okay thanks. I don't know what I'm so nervous about.”

“Later. Have fun on your date.”

Shiro left and Keith yelled through the closed door, “It's not a date!”

He got dressed and waited in the kitchen. Lance would be there any second.

 

* * *

 

About two minutes later, but who was counting? Keith was, but, two minutes later, Lance pulled into the driveway. He saw Keith step out of the house.

**Wowsers, he’s cute.**

**Wowsers, no he’s not cut it out.**

**And stop using wowsers, no one says that.**

Keith got into the car. “Hey”

“Hey. You ready for the movie?”

“It’s going to be awful.”

“Oh, definitely.”

Lance pulled out of the driveway and started down the road, “Where do you want to eat? We’ve got time, so sit down is an option.”

“That’d be nice,” Keith replied. Lance noticed that Keith was looking at him, then looked away the moment their eyes met.

“Any ideas where to eat?”

“You like breakfast for dinner?”

“Sure.”

“IHOP.” He said with a grin.

Lance raised an eyebrow, “Why’re you so excited about IHOP?”

“I’ve never been to one.”

Lance smiled, “Oh-kay, whatever you want.”

“And I’m paying, it’s your birthday, or, uh, was. But I’m paying anyway!”

Lance snorted a laugh, “You’re really excited, aren’t you? Looking forward to the movie?”

Keith’s eyes darted away, “Nah, it’s going to be awful, but, pancakes, am I right?”

Lance looked over at Keith quickly, but not for too long because he was driving and driving safely is important. Long enough to notice that a dusting of pink was on Keith’s cheeks. He didn’t bring it up. **Must’ve been a trick of the light.**

They pulled into the IHOP and got out of the car. They sat down.

“Wait, you can get pancakes here for dinner, right? That’s a thing, right?” Keith asked.

“Yes, Keith, you can get pancakes. No one comes here for anything but pancakes. What’re you ordering?”

Keith flipped through the menu, “You know, a fun thing my brother does when he goes out with his friends, they order for each other.”

Lance leaned back in his chair, “Yeah, that sounds cool,” he opened the menu and grinned, “I already know what to get you.”

“That was quick, I haven’t even looked at the pancakes, everything looks so good. Nope, wait, I have an idea.” He grinned and set his menu down. “So, what’s up?” **Wow Keith, wow, you are a STELLAR conversationalist. Consider Lance absolutely woo-ed.**

“Phone still doesn’t work, Cleo’s like, almost more annoying than Pidge, and Amy’s been home, so that’s cool.”

“Amy?”

“Oh, Amy’s my sister, she’s been volunteering in Haiti and she just got back. She’s who I had to pick up from the airport. She and her _boyfriend_.” He said boyfriend with such annoyance.

“You not like him?”

“They’re gro-oss. So take all the PDA. _All the PDA_. That’s them. Amy’s really cool on her own, but when they’re together. Ugh.” Lance rolled his eyes, “I’m sure you get it.”

“Actually Allura and Shiro are pretty chill around each other, they’re more cutesy.”

Lance flopped back in his chair dramatically, “No one can understand my plight.”

Keith smiled fondly, “Poor poor Lance.”

“Ugh,” Lance leaned forward on the table, “I never get any sympathy from you people.”

The waitress arrived, she looked about as disinterested as a dead fish in an old person’s home, which is to say, very disinterested. She took their orders with a flat, “What can I get for you today?”

Lance ordered first, “Can you make dairy free pancakes?”

“Yes.”

“Then I’d like the ‘Rooty Tooty Fresh ‘N Fruity’ pancakes, dairy free. Glazed strawberry topping, please.” He said with confidence, the confidence of a person who had been to an IHOP before. A person that Keith was not.

The waitress turned to Keith, “And for you.”

“The, uh, um, Cupcake, uh, Pancakes, please.”

She took their menus and left.

Lance looked to Keith, “Cupcake?”

Keith shrugged, “Thematically appropriate. Rooty Tooty Fresh ‘N Fruity?”

“Two reasons,” Lance held up a finger, “one, I really wanted to say it,” he held up his second finger, “and two, Texas.”

“What does Texas have to do with pancakes?”

“It reminded me of rooty-tooty-point-and-shooty, which reminded me of the wild west, which reminded me of Texas, then I thought, ‘oh hey! Keith is Texas!’”

Keith laughed, “Keith is Texas?”

Lance nodded, “Keith _is_ Texas.”

“God, What next, ‘rawr xd?’ ‘tacos colon-three’?”

“Oh darn, you caught me,” he winked, “my transformation into an early two thousands scene girl has been interrupted. I’ll never have the kitty face of my dreams.”

“Oof, it was a dark time for everyone. Especially Shiro.”

Lance snort laughed, “Shiro?”

“Oh my God, Shiro. He had such an emo phase.”

“I.. I can’t even imagine that. He always seems so put together, like he was born as a perfect person.”

Keith shook his head and smirked, “Not even close. He’s still a huge mess. You should’ve seen him the night he proposed to Allura. He was about a second away from faking his own death again.”

“Again?”

“Long story, it involves a cow, a fake cloning machine, and a purple crop top.”

“That seems really really interesting.”

“Maybe someday I’ll tell you about it, not today though, it’ll take an hour or two and probably some diagrams.”

“Jeez, how much don’t I know about you and your family’s shenanigans?”

“A lot, probably. Fun fact: I gave Shiro that scar on his nose.”

Lance raised an eyebrow, “How?”

“Well, since you asked… when I was nine I wanted to get an apple from the tree in the Shirogane’s back yard, so I ran to my house and grabbed one of my dad’s katanas. And Shiro, in all his emo glory, decided that he wanted to come watch this. Long story short, I swung the katana around a whole bunch and cut his face open. Stitches were had.”

“Dang. Sharp work, samurai,” he said sarcastically.

Keith shook his finger at Lance, “And that, is why you don’t let a nine-year-old use blades,” He sipped his drink, “Apparently buying a huge-ass knife for a twelve-year-old is okay though.”

“You got a knife when you were twelve?”

Keith nodded.

“That’s it, I’m changing your contact name. It’s going to be ‘Young Robert’ now.” Lance took out his phone and changed the name.

“Robert?” Keith asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Robert, from Dream Daddy Simulator, he likes knives and cryptids. He’s basically you but old.”

“Dream Daddy Simulator?”

“It’s a dating sim, but it’s really good and sweet but also kinda deep and relatable at the same time? And there’s a character who reminds me of Shiro and it’s funny.” Lance slipped his phone into his pocket. “I haven’t played it, but I’ve watched playthroughs of it. Maybe you should check it out sometime.”

“Maybe I will.”

The server brought out their pancakes, and they switched their orders. Lance having cupcake and Keith getting the ‘Rooty-Tooty-Fresh ‘N Fruity’ pancakes. They ate.

“What was my name before?” Keith asked out of nowhere because he felt like he needed to make conversation.

“Hmm?” Lance said, mouth full of pancake.

“In your contacts, what was my name?”

Lance swallowed his food, “It was Nico di Angelo for a while, but first it was Scarless Prince Zuko.”

“Are all of your contacts named after references?”

“Yes. What’re yours? Actual names?” he said in a half-jokey voice.

Keith didn’t say anything, he just silently ate his pancakes.

“They are aren’t they.” Lance rolled his eyes.

“Maybe.” He crossed his arms, “But I’d forget who it was if I didn’t.”

“Ugh, you’re like, the most boring person ever.”

“I got a knife for my twelfth birthday, hunted cryptids since age seven and ride a motorcycle!”

Lance slowly shook his head, “And you can’t even drink milk.”

“YOu- you know what?” Keith sighed, “These are good pancakes.”

“What an abrupt change of topic, I’ll roll with it. The pancakes _are_ pretty good.”

Keith looked up, a little dot of whipped cream was on Lance’s nose. **Wow, that’s so cliche and cute. But I should probably say something.** “You, uh, you’ve got something on your nose.”

Lance blushed and quickly swiped at his nose, “Thanks for telling me,” **Wowsers, that was embarrassing, at least Keith told me.**

**I mean, that would’ve been a really cute trope-y moment, I totally wouldn’t’ve minded…**

**Back at it again with the wowsers and the gay. You aren’t gay Lance, you aren’t!**

“You look like you’re going through some internal struggle, you okay Lance?” Keith asked.

“I’m not gay!” Lance burst out, being, if it wasn’t already obvious, quite gay.

“We’ve established that?” he chuckled and raised an eyebrow.

**Wow he’s really cute. I need to stop thinking about how cute he is. Think of something else. Like the pancakes. These are good pancakes, I like the sprinkles. The pancakes. That Keith ordered for me. Who is cute. And sitting across from me. And I haven’t said anything in a while. Crap.**

“Yes. We have. That I am not gay. That I am straight. And like girls.”

“Oh-kay… Well I’m done, so, yeah.”

The waitress came over and set down the check.

“I’m going to pay for this, and you can’t do anything to stop me,” Keith said, following it with the fakest evil laugh.

“I mean, with such a diabolical laugh, who could argue? I won’t.”

Keith paid and they left. They walked to the car and got in, ready to head to the movies. They drove there with some casual chatter. They arrived at the movie theater.

They got their tickets. “Are we going to get popcorn and stuff? Even though we just ate?” Lance asked.

“Who goes to the movies and doesn’t get popcorn?”

“Pidge. She gets raisinets. And only raisinets.”

“Disgusting. What even _is_ she?”

“Chaotic neutral. And yes popcorn?”

“Yes. I’m buying. What size are we getting?” Keith asked as they got into line.

“The jumbo one. Because it’s enormous and also the best deal because refills.”

“That bag is like, the size of your torso.”

“Yes,” Lance said, a sparkle in his eyes.

“Your choice, man. Want a drink?”

“Are there Pepsi products?”

Keith smirked, “Nope.”

Lance gave an annoyed sigh, “Coke then. Ugh.”

Keith patted Lance on the back, “You’ve made the right choice.”

Keith ordered for them and they grabbed their food. They headed into the theater.

Keith shivered a little, “Shiro mentioned that the theaters were cold, but jeez, I can nearly see my breath in here.”

“Quite a change from the blazing heat of the library.”

“I’m not quite sure which I prefer.”

They made their way to their seats and looked around. A huge group of kids paraded into the theater. Lance and Keith groaned in unison. Sharing a look like, _this was a mistake._

“It’ll be fine. Maybe they’ll be polite.” Keith said hopefully.

They sat for a little bit. Lance looked over at Keith. **Well, I can think he’s good-looking and still not be attracted to him. Yeah. I’m not sexually attracted to flowers, but I can appreciate that they’re pretty. Yeah that makes sense. Wait is he shivering?**

“Are you shivering?” Lance asked.

“Are you staring?” Keith shot back, rubbing his arms in an attempt to ward off the goosebumps.

“You were.” Lance started to take off his jacket.

“What’re you doing?” Keith asked, watching Lance struggle to get the jacket off without hitting the chairs around them.

“Giving you my jacket because I’m a nice person and also I’m wearing long sleeves under this.”

“Oh! Okay.” Keith’s face reddened slightly.

Lance stopped, “Do you not want it?”

“Nah, I’ll take it, I was just surprised.”

Lance handed over the jacket, and Keith slipped into it. “Thanks.”

“No prob.” Lance casually adjusted himself in his seat.

The lights dimmed and the trailers started. The trailers were Keith’s favorite part.

But he couldn’t focus on them. Because Lance’s jacket was around his shoulders. Lance McClain’s jacket. Annoying, loud, class clown Lance McClain, the boy from Geometry who was always ogling Nyma. The boy who Keith never thought he’d talk to, and never particularly felt the need to. The boy who Keith had fallen for, and fallen for _hard_. His jacket, which was warm and soft from being passed down from parent to child and worn constantly. Which smelled like cinnamon and Lance’s stupid axe body spray that he still used even though he wasn’t a prepubescent seventh-grader. It was just about the most comforting thing in the world. And Keith was the lucky boy who got to wear his crush’s jacket. Needless to say, his primary focus wasn’t the teasers for upcoming films.

Meanwhile Lance’s mind was racing as well. **Wow THAt wAS smOOTh.** He internally sassed himself. **You know what else would be smooth? If you put your arm around him. You should do that.**

**No, me, he told himself exasperatedly, that’s a couple thing. We aren’t a couple.**

**You gave him your jacket, that’s a couple thing.**

**No, he was cold, I was being nice. Because I’m nice.**

**You like him.**

**No, Keith is flowers. He’s pretty, but I don’t like him like that.**

**You should put your arm around him.**

**I should stop talking to myself is what I should do.**

The movie started. It was terrible, pandering garbage, but every time their hands brushed when reaching for popcorn Keith’s heart melted a little bit more and Lance’s internal conflict got a bit more persistent.

Soon enough, the movie was over. Keith and Lance waited until the crowd had filed out to make their way out of the theater in a post-movie daze.

As they walked back to Lance’s van they made casual conversation along the lines of _So what’d you think? Oh it was awful, but I expected that._

They pointed out plot holes and complained about that weird hand-guy. They laughed more on the ride home than they did throughout the entire movie.

It was dark when they pulled into Keith’s driveway.

“So…” Lance started.

Their eyes locked and held for a second too long.

**This is the part where you kiss him.**

**No.**

Keith looked away, “Uh, thanks, it was fun. See you on Monday.”

“Yeah.”

Keith got out of the car and went into his house. Lance started down the driveway.

 **He’s still wearing your jacket** , Lance chided himself.

**Good, he looks freaking cute in that thing.**

It wasn’t a lie, the jacket was loose on Lance, but it was just a little too big on Keith. And Lance was a sucker for the wearing someone else’s hoodie trope.

**He’ll give it back Monday, I can live without it until then.**

 

* * *

 

Keith walked into the living room. The Shiroganes were out with some friends and wouldn’t be back until morning. Shiro was probably in his room.

The lights flicked on to reveal Shiro with his reading glasses on and the family cat in his lap. “Where have you been young man?”

Keith sighed heavily, sick of Shiro doing this for the thousandth time. “Shiro, you literally helped me pick out what to wear before I went out.”

“Yeah, and after doing that I noticed that you’ve picked up a new accessory.”

The realization hit Keith, his face was the color of a stop sign, “I, uh, It’s not- The theater was- We aren’t-”

“-Chill, little bro, your secret’s safe with me.” Shiro got up and put a hand on Keith’s shoulder reassuringly, then he squatted down to be eye-level with Keith and said in a devious voice, “For now.”

“Ughhhh, this again.” Keith swatted Shiro’s hand away and turned on his heel to head to his room.

Shiro called down the hall to him, “I support you and whatever or whoever you want to do!”

 

* * *

 

Hunk was trying to sleep when his phone started going off rapid fire. Like, vibrating so hard it almost fell off the night stand.

  * Pidgeon: HUnK
  * Pidgeon: HUNK
  * Pidgeon: HUNK HUNK
  * Pidgeon:HUNK YOU BETTER GET THE FUCK UP
  * Pidgeon: YOU WON’T BELIEVE WHAT I SAW AT THE MOVIES TODAY.
  * You: What’s up, Pidge?
  * Pidgeon: so you know how I was babysitting this afternoon?
  * You: Yes.
  * Pidgeon: well apparently I wasnt just watching one kid. I was taking like 7 to the movies. To see the emoji movie.
  * You: And?
  * Pidgeon: You won’t believe who I saw.
  * You: Pidge, this is great and all, but I’m tired, can we move this along?
  * Pidgeon: fiiiine. It was lance and keith. I saw lance and keith
  * You: Is that seriously what you bothered me for?
  * Pidgeon: But Keith was wearing Lance’s jacket. and they looked like they were on a date
  * You: Oh really?



Hunk, despite already knowing that Keith had a crush on Lance, due to Shiro telling Allura, Allura telling Pidge and Pidge telling him, was surprised. Mostly that Lance hadn’t told him.

  * Pidgeon: 100%
  * You: Huh. I’ll ask Lance. See you tomorrow, kid.
  * Pidgeon: night



Hunk opened his texts with Lance and searched through the recent conversations, no he’d never mentioned going on a date tonight, especially not with Keith. He couldn’t text Lance yet. Lance still didn’t have any minutes. He went to bed instead.

 

* * *

 

Lance couldn’t sleep. He laid in his bed staring at the ceiling. He rolled onto his side and sighed. **Jesus, maybe I should stop talking to Keith because every time something remotely cute happens, I’m up all night pondering.**

**Maybe you should date him.**

Lance rolled his eyes. He grabbed his phone and earbuds.

**Music, music will help clear my mind.**

He put Book of Mormon, “Turn It Off”.

**Keith showed me this song. You know, that time when you shared the chair? And you should’ve kissed him then?**

**Yes, I know. I was there.**

He made a little “hmph” noise when Elder McKinley’s solo started.

**Hashtag relatable**

**Hashtag shut the fuck up.**

**Elder McKinley more like Elder McClain.**

Lance sighed and covered his face with his hands.

**I’m not gay, I don’t like Keith. But he’s so cute. And Nice. And he puts up with my garbage-ass self. But I don’t like him. I mean, I’m not gay. I like girls. Whatever. But I still don’t like Keith. ‘Cause I’m not gay.**

Lance laid in bed for a little while longer before falling asleep.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Fact #1: I forgot how RIDICULOUSLY LONG THIS CHAPTER IS. Good job for you for getting through it, you trooper.  
> Fun Fact #2: The Shirogane's cat is named Black. Because it's black. They are not creative.  
> Fun Fact #3: Shiro is a good brother. But he can and will blackmail Keith. He is also quite out of touch with the kids.  
> Fun Fact #4: I'm living vicariously through characters because I've never been to iHOP.   
> Fun Fact #5: Shiro has a prosthetic arm, the scar, and the white poof. One of which is for aesthetic.  
> Fun Fact #6: My friend keeps saying Keith is Texas to me. I forgot that that wasn't uploaded yet.  
> Fun Fact #7: Keith was 100% aware that Shiro and Allura were the only people who did the ordering for each other thing.  
> Fun Fact #8: Shiro's near-sighted! And studying to get his PhD in Classic Literature. He wants to be a college professor.


	21. In Which Conflict Bursts In Looking Like a L'Oréal Hair Commercial

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love all your comments and read every one! Feel free to ask any random questions, I've over thought this AU so much that you could ask literally anything and I'd probably have an answer for it.
> 
> Also, I've been thinking of changing the name of this fic to something a little simpler. "Overdue". It's a library call-back and may or may not be significant later on. Give me your thoughts on that because Heaven knows I don't trust myself to not fuck everything up.

Monday slowly arrived. Lance walked in a tad bit late. Keith was already there, wiping the counter down with a bleach wipe.

**Damn, he’s fine.**

**Damn you’re FUCKING NOT GAY**

“Hey.” Lance said.

“Hey.” Keith replied, he stopped wiping the counter. “Your jacket, uh, it’s in the break room. Sorry about stealing it.”

“It’s fine,” Lance coughed, “You looked cuter in it than I do,” he mumbled. **Fuck.**

Keith had gone back to cleaning, he looked up. “Did you say something?”

“Nope! Nope! Nothing!” He speed-walked into the breakroom. His jacket was folded neatly on the couch in the break room. With a little folded index card.

Lance picked up the card. On it, written in barely-legible hand-writing, was the following;

                                                        _Lance-_

_Sorry about stealing your jacket. I washed it to make up for it. Thanks for letting me borrow it._

_-Keith_

Lance sniffed it, it smelled clean. **That’s probably the first time in years that this thing has been washed.** He slipped it on and left the break room.

Keith looked over at Lance, “I left the note in case you didn’t see me before you found the jacket.”

“I figured. Thanks for washing it.”

“It was the least I could do. How was your weekend?”

“Good, good. Do anything interesting?”

“Not really, other than going to the movies with you.”

“Cool.”

Having exhausted their conversation topics for the moment, Keith stayed at the counter while Lance piddled around the library shelving books and reorganizing the perpetually messy childrens’ section.

Around three, Shiro and Coran came upstairs. Shiro declared that it was “team meeting” time. He’d recently taken to calling the library employees “team mates” much to the annoyance of said employees. Nevertheless, they assembled in the main lobby.

Shiro look excited. Coran moreso, which was rather concerning considering he had strange taste in “fun” things.

“What’s up, and you better make this fast, I’ve got three computers on the fritz, and updates to run.” Pidge grumbled.

“Thanks for the enthusiasm, kid,” Shiro said, “Well, anyway,” the smile crept back to his face, “As you all know, the annual ‘Summer Fest’ is coming up, and we’ve got a ton of extra books, so we’re having a book sale.”

“Okay…?” Keith said, “Is that everything?”

Shiro sighed, “I’m trying to get you guys pumped, jeez. We’re selling the books on the beach. That’s where the festival is being held. It was going to be called ‘Book Sale on the Beach Sand’ and it was going to be fun but you guys ruined it. Point is, we need two people to stay here, and two people to come with Coran and I to the beach to sell books.”

“I VOLUNTEER TO STAY HERE” Hunk said, a little too loudly, while elbowing Pidge in the side and very, very obviously looking at Lance and Keith, who were standing close by.

“Ow, jeez fine,” she muttered under her breath, “Okay, okay, I’ll stay here, I don’t like the beach that much anyway.”

“Welp, that was easy. Keith, Lance, can you two come in early tomorrow to help set up? The festival’s on Wednesday, but it’ll take time to get everything ready.” Shiro said.

They both said yes, and headed back to their normal routines. Lance and Keith at their counter, Hunk trying to keep the A/C on, and Pidge practically resorting to kicking the malfunctioning computers into submission.

Lance broke out the ol’ manicure kit and lazily started painting his nails a royal blue color.

Keith rocked back and forth on his feet, “Soo…. beaches.”

Lance cracked a smile, “I’m looking forward to going, sort of, if that’s what you’re getting at. I hope we get to swim and stuff at least a little.”

“I’ve never liked the beach that much,” Keith half-mumbled.

Lance stood up and his hand flew to his chest, “What!?” he exclaimed, “Sacrilege, how could you ever say something like that?”

“One, we’re in a Library. Try to actually be quiet. Two, let me list the ways.” he began counting on his fingers, “Sand, it gets everywhere. The water’s always cold and full of fish pee. I sunburn really easily. People. And uh,” he mumbled something inaudible.

“What was that?” Lance raised an eyebrow at him.

“I, uh, I can’t swim?” He half-coughed-half-grumbled.

Lance stared blankly at him, “That’s kind of sad?”

“Wow thanks, as if I wasn’t already embarrassed enough about it, I mean it’s not like I’m a sixteen-year-old who can’t even doggy paddle or anything, whate-”

“-No, sorry, that’s not what I meant. I was just surprised. ‘Cause like swimming is just such a big part of my life. Thinking about you not even knowing how to swim is just kinda foreign to me.”

“Well yep, that’s me, weird and not able to swim, it’s not a big deal though.” Keith flumped down on the counter, firmly placing his chin in the palm of his hand.

“Dude,” Lance said quietly after continuing to paint his nails, “I could teach you how to swim.”

“Oh really?” Keith raised an eyebrow and tried to ignore all the cute trope-y daydreams flying through his head, “And what gives you the credentials?”

“You sir,” Lance started, “Are looking at the captain of the swim team and current hundred yard butterfly record holder.” He stood up and flexed, wiggling his eyebrows at Keith.

Keith snort laughed, which Lance took like a punch to the gut, both because it was freaking cute and also his pride. “Hey, let up, it’s the offseason.” He slumped over, “which reminds me that I’m going to start practice soon. Blahhhh.”

Keith gave him a crooked smile as he leaned on the counter once again, “If you hate it so much, then how come you’re on the team? And captain no less.”

“Because I love it, obviously, and I stay in shape, that’s a bonus. But, yeah, we should totally go swim sometime, I’ll teach you the basics.”

“Sounds cool.” Keith smiled, cute scenarios flitting through his head.

“Yep.” Lance said awkwardly. They exchanged tight-lipped smiles and a look that lingered a touch too long.

“I'm going to go, uh, books.” Keith mumbled.

“‘Kay, have fun.” Lance said while blowing on his nails.

Keith wandered away determined to books, despite not being quite sure what that meant. He went on his way to the children's section because surely there was some booking to do there.

Lance stared stared blankly at his nails.

**What even was that? Offering to teach him to swim? Are you serious? You’re being _that_ guy. You’re messing with him. He doesn’t deserve that. And even if you liked him, you wouldn’t deserve him. Because you’re some dickweed who can’t even get his shit together long enough to _try_ to form a meaningful relationship. He’d never date you, never consider it. Get over him before you even try.**

But he might.

**He won’t. People don’t _like_ you, Lance. You’re good for a night and that’s it. You don’t _matter_ to anyone, especially not him. Don’t trick yourself into even _thinking_ that you matter. Don’t fucking _dare_ let yourself fall for this. For _him_.**

**Can you maybe not? Like, now? Like, while I’m in public, working. Can _I_ not?**

Lance gave a heavy sigh and put his head in his hands. “Ugh, fuck me.” He mumbled.

Someone chuckled from the other side of the counter, “Considering I’ve never spoken to you, I don’t think that’ll happen. But I wouldn’t mind coffee.”

Lance whipped his head up, “OhmyGodI’msorryIdidn’tmeantosaythatI’mso-”

The guy put his hand up, “Don’t worry,” his voice was smooth and wait, was that a british accent?, damn, “But I was serious about the coffee,” he winked.

 **Wow he’s fucking hot. Like, super fucking hot. Stop staring at him.** “Uh. Uh. Yes? Okay. Good. Yes. Coffee sounds good?” **Aren’t you smooth.**

“That’s great, I’d also like this book, and maybe your number?” he casually slid the book over the counter.

“Okay.” Lance winced at his own embarrassing voice crack. He quickly scanned the book, which was strangely a college textbook for political sciences, and scribbled his number down on the receipt. “Here.”

“Thanks, I’m looking forward to it.” The guy gave a flirty smirk.

“Yeah, oh, I’m Lance, by the way,” he called after the guy, who had already turned to leave.

“Lotor.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Fact #1: JK I'm not sorry.  
> Fun Fact #2: Lance's record is 59.58, seconds. Which, if you didn't know is REALLY FAST.  
> Fun Fact #3: Another reason Lance stays on the swim team is because it's one of the few things that he feels he excels at.  
> Fun Fact #4: My new favorite insult is "dickweed"  
> Fun Fact #5: It's almost comical how much I project onto these characters.  
> Fun Fact #6: Get ready fOR A MUTHA FUCKIN BEACH DAY BOIIIS (I'm never doing that again, I swear.)


	22. In Which One Must Realize That Other People Have A Story Outside The Main Plot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woot woot. Lezzgo. Ready to boogie down and read some angst! Yeet yeet.

Keith sat in the children’s section, fixing books. He sighed and smacked his forehead against the bookshelf. “I’m a fucking idiot,” he grumbled, then mocked himself, “‘Sounds cool, Lance. Why don’t I just throw myself at you harder, Lance? I’m fucking lucky you’re oblivious, Lance!” He thumped his head against the bookshelf one last time. “Guess I need to go face my problems.”

Keith turned on his heel and headed into the lobby, a very handsome and rather familiar looking customer was at the counter, Lance looked nervous, and the man looks very flirty.

Keith didn’t like this, not one bit. He approached slowly, listening in on the conversation.

**Did he just? Ask Lance out? But Isn’t Lance straight? He wouldn’t-**

The thought was interrupted by Lance not only handing over his number, but seeming very nervous.

**Oh.**

Keith backed slowly into the Children’s area.

**Okay. I mean. That doesn’t mean anything. He could just be being nice. He could turn the guy down over text.**

**You know that’s not it.**

**He lied. He likes guys, just not you.**

**This is what you get for falling for someone like him. This is what you get.**

Keith sat on the ground. You will not cry. **You will not cry. You will- God damn it.**

His eyes started to well up. He sat with his eyes closed. **No.** he told himself. **You will not cry over him. Get over it, you have a job to do.**

Keith stood and swiped at his eyes. He took a deep breath and walked calmly back to the lobby.

Lance stood stock still.

Keith stood next to him, saying nothing. He fiddled with the hair that hung over his eyes, thinking about maybe getting a haircut.

“Keith.” Lance whispered, awestruck.

Keith just hummed in acknowledgement, refusing to sneak a glance at the boy standing next to him. Who paid Keith no mind, because Lance wasn’t there, not really.

“I just got asked out.”

“Cool,” Keith barely choked out the word. He bit his bottom lip.

“You should have seen him, Keith, KeithKeithKeith, I think I might be a lil’ bit gay.”

“Cool,” Keith tasted blood. He closed his eyes tightly.

“What should I do? I mean, I’ve never been asked out before, I’m the one who does the asking. And he was _hot_. You should’ve seen him.” Lance turned to look at Keith, “Like he- woah, what’s wrong.”

Keith’s eyes flicked open. **Shit.**

“I… stubbed my toe. Really hard. And I think it’s bleeding. Yeah….” he said, his toe perfectly intact. Unlike his heart.

“Oh, jeez, man. You could’ve told me. There’s a box of band-aids in the break room.”

“‘Kay.” Keith shuffled away to the break room. **Well that went well.** He sat on the break room couch for an appropriate time for band-aid applying then got back up and out back into the library lobby.

“You good?”

“Yeah,” Keith took a deep breath. He faked a smile, a skill he'd gotten quite good at over the past year. “I’m fine.”

 

* * *

 

Hours later, Lance laid on his bed hands over his eyes. **There's something wrong with Keith. Something was totally up today.** **Why didn’t I say anything? I should ask him.** He grabbed his phone to text Keith when it vibrated, signaling that he’d received a text of his own.

  * 555-3425: Hey ;)
  * 555-3425: It’s Lotor.



Lance stared at his phone. He didn’t actually expect to have the guy text him.

  * You: Hi.
  * 555-3425: Are you free Thursday afternoon? I don’t have class then.



Lance flicked through things that he thought might conflict.

You: I think I am.

  * 555-3425: Cool, wanna meet up at the Coffee Spoon, at noon?
  * You: Sure. Sounds fun! Looking forward to it.
  * 555-3425: I am as well.



Lance didn’t really know how to reply to that, so he just decided not to. He plugged his phone into the cord on the other side of the room, then went to start getting ready for bed.

 

* * *

 

Keith flicked through his tumblr feed. Boring, boring, boring. He couldn’t even focus on what was going on with the cryptids and such. Because he had Lance on the brain.

I fucking told you.

You did.

**And I’m right.**

**Yep.**

**And this is only making us bitter, isn’t it?**

**Yep.**

The voice in his head that Keith was getting rather concerned about at this point quieted, as if it was stumped.

**Seduce him.**

**Yeah no.**

**I mean, yes.**

**No.**

**Fucking seduce Lance, can’t be that hard.**

**I’m not seducing anyone. Who even seduces anymore?**

**You _should_. But I digress, at least flirt with him?**

**We both know what happened last time I actually tried to flirt.**

Keith cringed.

**Just. Be supportive?**

**I just swear I knew that guy. I’ve seen him somewhere, I wish I could’ve gotten a closer look, and torn my goddamn eyes away from Lance for a millisecond.**

“Keith?” Shiro’s voice called from the other side of the door. His tone clearly indicating that this was not the first time he’d called for his little brother.

“Come in!”

“What was that about? I knocked like, seven times.” Shiro said, walking in.

Keith flipped down the lid of his laptop, “I had headphones on.”

Shiro raised an eyebrow, “I came in here to return your headphones. That you left on the dining table. Downstairs.”

“Other…. Headphones…?” Keith said, unconvincingly.

“Okay, so, my parents are out, again, and Allura is coming over, so like…”

Keith suddenly felt his whole body fill with anger, “You want me to leave.”

“No it's just-”

Keith stood abruptly “Fine. Whatever. Fuck your girlfriend's brains out. Fuck your own out too for all I care.”

Shiro stuck out his hand, “No, wait, Keith.”

He shoved past Shiro and left the room, grabbing his jacket on the way. He stormed down the stairs and grabbed Shiro’s keys to the library.

Allura was just pulling into the driveway when she saw Keith slamming the door shut behind him and not even looking up. Shiro opened the door as Keith jumped on his motorcycle and drove away in a huff of smoke and angst.

Keith sped through town, to the library. He didn’t know where to go except there. At least since it was closed no one would be there.

He pulled up to the library. The wind had started to pick up. He left his phone at home. **This was just a great idea.**

He put the key in the lock and shoved open the door just as it started to rain. Keith relocked the door and sat down in the lobby, head in his hands.

**What are you doing here?**

**Shiro just kicked you out of the house. Duh.**

Keith’s thoughts were interrupted by a faint sneeze. His head jerked up and looked around suspiciously. A few more sneezes later, Keith had stood up and crept over to the IT room, where the sneezes seemed to be coming from.

He knocked on the door, “Hello?”

The door opened and Pidge poked her head out, one hand holding the door closed and the other holding a tissue to her face. Her eyes were slightly red.

“What are you doing here?” She asked, her voice cracked.

Keith narrowed his eyes, “I should be asking you that question.”

“I asked first.”

“Shiro kicked me out for a while.”

“Huh.” She started opening the door, “Want some coffee?”

“Sure.” He stepped in, “I didn’t know you had a coffee machine in here.”

“Don’t tell Shiro.” She waved her arm in the general direction of a papasan in the corner. “Sit, how’d ya’ like your coffee, Quiche?”

“I won’t, black, and it’s Keith.”

“A man after my own heart.” She pressed a few buttons on the machine and an annoying whining noise emanated from it, signaling that the water was heating.

“So, why are you here again?”

She gave him a sideways glare, “That’s my business.” She handed him his coffee then went over to her desk. She shuffled around some papers until she found an obviously used mug. There were stains of stray coffee drips running down the sides. She put it under the coffee machine and turned it on. She leaned on the wall, arms crossed, “Shiro doesn’t seem the type to kick you out for no reason.”

Keith sighed and stared into his coffee, “Allura was coming over. But I don’t know… I just wanted to get away from people for a bit. That didn’t really pan out.”

Pidge mumbled an apology and sipped her freshly brewed coffee, leaving Keith to wonder how she managed to drink it when it was still so hot.

“It’s fine, thanks for the coffee.”

Pidge finished her coffee and sat at her swivel chair, facing him. “So, I’m not great with feelings and things, but I have an idea that something is gnawing at you, want to talk about it?”

“Don’t tell anyone.”

“Obviously.”

“I feel like I don’t belong in my own home. They’ve done their best to accommodate me, but it’s still weird. I feel like the older I get, the more distant the Shiroganes get. I’ve seen some pictures of when my dad was younger and I look… a lot like him. Like, a lot. I think that it’s hard for them to even be around me at this point. And it’s awful. And of course the extra layer of liking someone and him not liking me and blah blah blah.” Keith waved his hand around in a circle.

“Well I feel you about the whole, ‘Home-not-feeling-like-home’ thing.”

“Oh really?”

Pidge picked at her cuticles, “I’ve been avoiding going home. Especially today.” She started to stare out the window, “My mom’s parents are in town so I’m not allowed to,” she took on a mocking tone, “‘Indulge myself’ and ‘It won’t be for long’ but my mom doesn’t seem to be aware of how much I hate being ‘Darrell’.”

“What do you mean?”

Pidge sighed and started to make herself another cup of coffee, “I was born Darrell, but I’ve always been Katie.”

“Oh… OH. Okay. I mean, to be honest I always thought your name was Pidge.”

She shrugged, “Most people do, I prefer that. Katie is for formal and legal things.”

“Wow. I’m really sorry, kiddo.”

She sniffled, “And it’s so hard to keep up this facade of a happy family with Matt and Dad gone. And me being the fucking screw-up I am and-” her voice broke.

Keith sat there with just about the most awkward expression on his face. He had no idea what to do. “Do, uh, you need a hug?”

Pidge just sniffed violently and nodded. They both stood up and wrapped their arms around each other. She sniffled and burrowed her head into his shirt. Keith gave her one final squeeze and then they stepped back. “You okay?” Keith asked.

“Yeah. Just don’t tell Shiro I’ve been staying here. I told my mom I’m staying at a friend’s house. I think she knows though. I don’t really have any friends to stay with.”

“Just, be safe. It’s a good thing it’s not winter.” Keith stood up, “Thanks for the coffee.” He started to walk away before turning around, “And if you’re sick of sleeping in a papasan, you could always have this friend to stay with.” He gave Pidge a soft smile.

Her eyes welled a bit. “Thanks.” Her face got suddenly stern. “And if you breathe a word about this to anyone-”

“-You’ll do some kind of long convoluted thing to ruin my life via computers.”

“Absolutely.”

Keith laughed out of his nose. “Night Katie,”

“Night Keith.”

He walked out of the library, the rain had subdued to a slight drizzle. He made sure the library doors were locked then walked over to his motorcycle. He sat on the seat.

**_squish_ **

“Damnit.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Fact #1: I started legit tearing up while writing the part at the beginning? And I don't know why? Like, emotions? Can you maybe not???  
> Fun Fact #2: I was very very close to writing Pidge and Keith doing the equivalent of an "awkward sibling hug".  
> Fun Fact #3: Note that Lance is enamored completely with Lotor's physical appearance, nothing more.  
> Fun Fact #4: I've written over 150 pages of this crap and somehow people are reading it? Isn't that wack? And it's not even half over.


	23. In Which I Wrote Some Of The Weirdest Shit Ever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dreams are a great way to hammer in symbolism!! :D

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry about missing an update and y'all are probably sick of hearing my excuses.  
> TBH, I don't have one.  
> So like, read it I guess, you aren't here to read my commentary.  
> Comment, blah blah blah, ask questions, whatever.

Keith drove home. He was formulating an apology in his head. Shiro didn’t deserve to deal with his angst. It was late.

The Shiroganes’ car was in the driveway. Allura’s was not.

**Fuck**

He parked his motorcycle and walked into the house timidly, hands in pockets, eyes fixed on the ground.

“Where have you been?” Mrs.Shirogane’s voice was a mix of disappointment and relief, more of a statement that Keith had messed up than a question of where he’d been.

“I went to the library to clear my head.”

She stood up from the chair she’d been sitting in and stood in front of Keith. She was significantly shorter than him. The top of her head about chin-level. Her face was tired, the make-up she’d worn for her date night with her husband having rubbed off in some places. Her face looked almost deceptively young, but her eyes gave away her age. Years of raising a child, who’s now engaged, a friend who she’d known for years, dead by his own hand, raising another child, trying to keep him, her husband, herself and her family together, they showed in her eyes.

“Keith… you know how I don’t like you driving around at night, in the rain, especially on that motorbike of yours.” She didn’t meet his eyes. He knew what was on her mind.  
He recalled the night that Shiro went out on his bike, it was dark and rainy, the roads were slick. A truck hydroplaned, hitting him. He was comatose for nearly a week, and he ended up needing his arm amputated, just from the way he was struck. It was barely two months after Keith’s father died.

Since that day, Mrs.Shirogane never let her son or Keith drive out in the rain.

“I know, I just didn’t want to be here.”

She reached up and touched his face, “You look more and more like your father everyday,”

Keith pulled away, “Yeah.”

“It’s been hard, losing your father, and with Yuuto and I being absent constantly. I’m sure that it hasn’t made you feel as welcome as you should.”

Keith said nothing.

“We care about you, Keith, we really do.”

“Then why are you always gone? Why does it seem like the older I get, the less time you spend around me, you act like _I’m_ the one that’s twenty-five and living with my parents.” His words were like a blade, cutting into Mrs.Shirogane’s soft demeanor.

“We can’t help it. Both of our jobs are so demanding.-”

“-You haven’t spoken to me in almost a week.”

“It’s so hard for us, especially Yuuto, you look so much like him, it’s like watching him grow up over again.”

Keith turned away. “I know,”

She placed a hand on his shoulder, “Keith, we’re sorry.”

“Yeah,” He turned back around, “I’m going to bed, goodnight.”

“Good night, Keith.”

He began trudging up the stairs.

“Love you.”

He turned around, confused for a moment, “You too.”

 

* * *

 

Lance wandered leisurely through the halls of Hogwarts. He twirled his wand between his fingers. The halls were empty, the paintings were empty. He came upon a waterbed, a lab rat resting on it. The rat spoke in a deep baritone.

“Hey, fucko.”

“That wasn’t very nice of you to say.” Lance said, hurt.

“You deserve it,”

“I know,”

The rat jumped onto Lance’s shoulder. “Come on, we’ve got a potions class to attend.”

Suddenly the waterbed was gone, and Lance’s hands were full of books and notes. The rat started biting his ear and whispering a variety of curse words into it. Most of which were in a language that Lance didn’t know, yet he somehow knew they were swears and in gaelic.

He stumbled to the stairs, his Hogwarts robes fluttering behind him.

The stairs seemed to be swirling chaotically, sending students falling off the edge, he recognized quite a few of the girls he’d flirted with. He jumped onto the stairs, somehow landing perfectly. He was an ice skater, after all. The stairs started crumbling the moment his nike-brand stripper boots landed on them. The boots were a mandatory part of the uniform. He started running up the stairs. The rat started climbing up and down his legs. Screeching more gaelic swears. It finally leapt to a nearby ledge.

The final chunk of stair fell away, Lance reached out and latched one hand on the ledge next to the rat. It squeaked loudly in german, “Get your own ledge, fucko!”

“Please, help,” Lance said haggardly.

It waddled over and bit furiously on his knuckles. Until Lance let go, finger by finger. Quickly, just before he fell he grabbed the rat and brought it with him.

The scene shifted to a white room.

“Where am I?” Lance said aloud, despite the fact that there was no one around to answer him.

Yet answer him someone did, in a familiar baritone, “Heaven.”

“So… I’m dead.” Lance said rather calmly, given the situation.

“Yep. You’re also naked.”

Lance looked down to see that he was, in fact, completely nude. “Guess I am.”

He turned his attention to the figure before him. It was a smartly dressed man, with a goatee and greased back black hair. His face was rat-like.

“Who are you?” Lance asked.

“Some people call me God, others call me a rat. You can call me Steven.”

“What are you doing here, Steven?”

“You have a choice to make, Fucko.”

“What is it?”

“You’ll find out in time. But I have a gift.” Steven pulled a small gift box out of the air and handed it to Lance.

He opened the box and pulled out the gift, “Is this… is this a vibrator?”

Steven was gone.

The dream shifted again. Lance was, mercifully, fully clothed, now in a wetsuit. In front of him, stood a mirror.

The Mirror of Erised, it showed the deepest desires of whoever looked into it. Lance looked in.

On the other side stood Keith, a serene smile on his face. He leaned forward as if to kiss Lance. Lance leaned in as well. He closed his eyes. Suddenly he felt a rush of people, he opened his eyes, Keith was gone, as was the mirror, replaced by a crowd of beautiful women, movie stars, models, and anyone else Lance had found attractive over the years. Lance spun to see if Keith could be found in the crowd. He wasn’t there.

Suddenly the women grabbed him, they forced him into a cage and slammed the door shut. Their faces began to morph into his own, each giving him a disapproving glare. Lance started hearing the sound of a heartbeat. It soon became deafening. The cage started shrinking and shrinking. Lance stuck his arm out and cried out for help.

Someone grabbed his hand.

 

* * *

 

Lance woke up in his room, the sunlight streaming in from the curtains he’d so foolishly left open the previous night.

**Ugh, fuck the sun. My alarm hasn’t even gone off yet. What time is it?**

He grabbed his phone from his night stand.

**4:11 a.m.**

He groaned and rolled over.

 

* * *

 

When his alarm did go off, Lance threw on some probably clean clothes, walked down the stairs and into the kitchen. His sister, Amelia was making pancakes, Hugo hugging her from behind, resting his head on her shoulder.

“Gross,” Lance griped.

Amelia tossed him an annoyed glance. “If you want any of these delicious pancakes, you’d better shut it.”

He did want pancakes, so he shut it. He scrolled through his Instagram feed until Amelia told him that the pancakes were ready. She and Hugo sat down across from him.

“How’d you sleep last night, kiddo?” Amelia asked, practically holding up her boyfriend appeared to be so groggy that the pancakes in front of him would’ve made a wonderful pillow.

“Fine, I had a weird dream. I don’t remember anything about it though. Just that it was weird.”

“Huh, I did too, wanna hear?”

Lance checked the time, **7:13**. “I actually have to get to work early, later nerds. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do.” He got up and started to leave.

Amelia snorted into her coffee, “Don’t exactly think you’re liable to say that.”

Lance gave her one last withering look before leaving for the library.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Fact #1: The Shiroganes are doing their best, honest. They've been through too much. It's hard on them.  
> Fun Fact #2: This is my first time writing a dream sequence, I wanted to portray how fricken weird they are.   
> Fun Fact #3: Lance is NOT a figure skater.  
> Fun Fact #4: The sun isn't the only thing Lance wants to fuck.  
> Fun Fact #5: This does not represent my religious views in the slightest.  
> Fun Fact #6: This chapter was pre-written, I forgot most of it and was laughing too much at the sheer ridiculousness was what I wrote.  
> Fun Fact #7: I 100% encourage any theories on what all of the dream things represent. I would totally confirm/deny them.  
> Fun Fact #8: Shiro does have a valid reason why he still lives at home.


	24. In Which It's a BEACH DAY!!!!1!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Beach day. I hate beaches

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo yay. I'm sad. Thanks for reading and stuff.

The morning was filled with contests of who could fill Lance’s van, Shiro’s prius and Hunk’s truck the fastest, who could carry more books, and who could do all this while coming up with more and more stupid trash talk.

The afternoon was filled with contests of who could set up a tent quicker, who could unload the cars first, and how many Cheetos Lance could steal from Keith without him noticing. It was seven.

By five everything was set up properly, and Lance and Keith were given the day off for their work. The library closed at six.

Shiro and Coran took the cars back, leaving Lance and Keith to their own devices.

They stood aimlessly staring out at the beach. The waves lapped at the shore, seagulls fluttered about, scanning for food from the various vendors around the beach that were setting up.

“Hey Keith.” Lance whispered, still facing the water.

“What?”

“Did you bring a swimsuit?”

Keith looked at him like he’d grown a third arm and slapped him across the face with it. “No?????”

Lance pulled the classic “puppy eyes” look, “Why noooot?”

And Keith, being clueless as ever, “Why would I?”

“You forgot? I was going to teach you how to swim?”

“Oh, I thought you were joking.” Keith said, fiddling with his hair.

“I never joke about swimming.”

“Welp, I don’t have swim trunks, so I guess that’s off.” He shrugged, the apathy obvious in his voice.

Lance lips formed a mischievous smile. “Good thing I brought an extra pair then.”

 

* * *

 

Keith tied the drawstrings tighter around his waist. **Why did I let him talk me into this?**

**Cause he’s cute and you’re super gay.**

**Yes. Yes. All true.**

Lance knocked on the door to the stall Keith was in. Being a swimmer, Lance was desensitized to changing in public changing rooms, and being extremely self-conscious, Keith was not.

“You done yet?” Lance said impatiently.

“Yeah, just a sec,” He replied, throwing his t-shirt over his head and unlocking the door.

Lance was in normal beach attire, swim trunks and… well, just swim trunks. They were blue with little sharks on them.

Keith kept his t-shirt on, was wearing the oversized swim trunks over his boxers, and about fifty extra pounds of spf twenty billion sunscreen.

“You look like an absolute dweeb.” Lance said through a barely contained laugh.

“I feel like one, c’mon, let’s get this over with.”

As they were walking down to the water from the bathrooms, they made pleasant conversation.

“Are those bigfoots on the waistband of your boxers?” Lance asked.

Keith looked down. “Yes.”

“Why do you have cryptid underpants?” Lance said, a tinge of amusement in him voice.

“Why are you staring at them?” Keith shot back.

Lance’s face colored instantly, “Touché,” he coughed into his hand “touché.”

They made their way into the water.

“This is very cold,” Keith grumped.

“And you are very complain-y.” Lance replied.

Keith harrumphed.  
“So what do you know about swimming?” Lance said, putting his hands on his hips.

“One, it’s difficult, because you complain about it a lot.”

“That I do!”

“Two, water,” Keith said with finality.

“That’s everything?”

“Yes. I can’t even float.”

Lance rolled his eyes a little and smiled, “Well, we’ll start with the basics.”

Lance started trying to teach Keith how to swim. He got kicked a few times, in the face. And other places. Like his… leg.

It eventually devolved into a splashing contest. No one wins a splashing contest. Eventually Keith tried to run away, while in water. Needless to say, it didn’t work. He fell over. On his face. Lance laughed for a billion years, after making sure that Keith was okay, of course. Keith got up and abruptly pushed Lance over, cackling maniacally.

“Ack!” Lance yelled, hitting the water with a **_Sploosh._**

“That’s what you get for laughing!” Keith shouted through his own laughs.

“Well then, take that!” Lance swept Keith’s knees out from under him, landing Keith butt-first in the water.

Keith, having nowhere else to go but up, considering that he was sitting and he was going to win this water fight, tackled Lance, sending them both down into the murky depths of the shallow water.

Lance, being firmly held down by the approximately one hundred fifty-three pounds of pure dripping-with-lakewater Keith Kogane, didn’t really know what to do. Here he was, underwater, a very cute boy right there, holding him underwater. And since he was underwater, he couldn’t breathe, which wasn’t helped by the fact that those approximately one hundred fifty-three pounds of very cute boy were mostly on his chest.

**I’ll just stand up? What could go wrong?**

Many things. Many things could go wrong with this plan, one being that Lance wasn’t strong enough to just directly _fling_ an entire person off himself without really using his arms. Another being that the person in question most likely would be opposed to the idea of being flung.

Nevertheless, Lance tried to stand, which was mostly in vain as he more or less got up the immediately fell right back over because Keith had freaking wrapped himself around Lance’s torso koala-style.

For one glorious moment, Lance was more or less upright and they locked eyes.

Keith’s eyes said two things,

The first was very obvious, an intense lust for victory because no beanpole, as cute as that beanpole may be, was going to beat him in a water battle. This was for honor.

The second was softer, happier, to just be spending time with Lance made him happy, even if it wasn’t romantically.

But it was mostly the first thing.

“FOR GLORY!” Keith yelled, pumping his fist in the air and proceeding to take them both down back into the water.

Lance, very eloquently added a distressed “GACK!”

However, he was more prepared, Keith had managed to wiggle into a less unbalanced position, and Lance managed to not only stand up, but pick Keith up and carry him fireman style.

“HOW DID YOU EVEN- PUT ME DOWN!” Keith yelled in protest of his newly acquired potato-sack-esque position.

“I’d make a snarky comment, but you’re really heavy and I’m impressed that I could do that at all.” Lance said. He very unceremoniously dumped Keith into the water. “We should get out, it’s getting dark.”

Keith stared up at Lance. The setting sun glittered against the water and made his eyes shimmer. His hair poked in all directions and he gave Keith that smile that made his heart skip a beat. Lance held out his hand.

**I am so lucky to spend time with him and even if he never likes me, I’ll be happy because we still had good times together.**

“Yeah,” he said breathlessly, taking Lance’s hand.

  
Lance pulled him up and they walked up to the changing area, bumping into each other playfully as they made their way up the beach.

 

* * *

 

It was fully dark by the time Lance dropped Keith off at his house. He’d had to park on the edge of the road because the Shirogane’s driveway was full.

Lance started to get out, before Keith’s voice interrupted him. “What are you doing?” Lance could tell that there was a nervous little half-laugh punctuating the question.

“Oh I was just, uh, walking you to the door, because it’s polite and, sorry I’ll just,” he sat back down, “bye, I guess.”

Keith didn’t move, “Well, they forgot to leave the porch light on, and I guess it’d be nice if someone held a flashlight for me while I tried to unlock the door.”

“‘Kay,” Lance agreed.

They both got out and made their way down the darkened driveway, Lance holding out his phone flashlight, and Keith just behind him. Keith’s hand was gripping the back of Lance’s shirt.

“So go to the back door, the side door’s lock always sticks and the front door is blocked.”

“Okay, and stop pulling on my shirt please, you’re choking me out just a little.”

Keith dropped his hand right away, “Oh, uh, sorry, the dark just makes me a little nervous, and you’ve got the light, so I just, uh, yeah.”

Lance reached back, his hand found Keith’s bare arm, then slinked down to his hand and interlocked their fingers. “Will this work?”

Keith looked like he was about to pop, but Lance, of course, didn’t think anything of it.

They shuffled for a few more steps, neither being too eager to get to the door, but alas, they arrived at the door. Lance held up his phone while Keith unlocked the door. His hand hesitated on the knob. He turned and looked at Lance, “So, see you tomorrow?”

“Yeah,” Lance shifted on his feet, “see you,” he started to walk away, “G’night.”

“Night.”

“Love you,” Lance said, “Wait, fuck, uh, wait.”

Keith had already disappeared inside.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun fact #1: They were crunchy Cheetos.  
> Fun fact #2: There were three people on the beach, a lifegaurd, who wasn't paying attention, and a pair of teenage girls who were so confused about whether or not these two idiots were dating or...?  
> Fun fact #3: Keith is 110% not afraid of the dark and Lance is like, 75% sure of this fact.  
> Fun fact #4: He'll just... bi. *bu-dum tisss*
> 
> DID KEITH HEAR LANCE SAY LOVE YOU? WILL HE SAY ANYTHING? WILL I EVER FINISH THIS FIC?? FIND OUT NEXT WEEK IF I CAN MUSTER THE ENERGY TO POST A CHAPTER OF THE THRILLING ADVENTURES OF "One Awful Voltron Library AU"!! man i need to change that name


	25. In Which This Is A Date, Right?

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This won't last long, don't worry. Nothing does.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i feel awful.  
> hope you like the chapter  
> thanks for reading

The next day was too busy for Keith and Lance to talk, aside from the occasional, “Do you have any change?” or “Hey how much is this book?”

It was a whirlwind of tiring activity. After, both boys were so exhausted that once they picked up they drove back to the library in silence. Shiro had deserted them on the beach once again, because his car was so full of books that Keith couldn’t fit. They filled Lance’s car, and Keith rode in the passenger seat. They arrived in silence, unloaded in silence, and went to their respective houses in silence.

Lance sat at his desk, flicking through his Instagram feed.

**I should call Keith.**

**Noooo, he’s probably busy, I wouldn’t want to bother him.**

**You got a new minutes card so you could talk to him.**

**Nooooooo….**

**Yesssss**

**Noooo-**

**I’m calling him, fuck off.**

And so, he did. Call Keith, that is, not fuck off.

“Hey, this is Keith, what’s up?”

“Hi,” Lance said, awkwardly, **what is this?**

“Lance? I thought you didn’t have any minutes.”

“Well, I didn’t. But I got some.” **Literally just so I could talk to you more.**

“That’s cool.”

They fell into an awkward silence.

“So… what’re you doing?” Keith asked.

“Oh, uh, nothing really what about you?”

“Drawing.”

“Neato.”

“So… anything interesting going on?” Keith asked, knowing full well something interesting was going on.

“Well I have a date tomorrow night. I’m actually a little nervous, I mean, I think Lotor’s in college and he’s so good looking.”

“Lotor?” Keith’s voice cracked with surprise. He knew that name, he knew Lotor. Personally. _Very_ personally.

“Yep.”

“Just, uh, just be careful. I’ve heard of him. He doesn’t have… the best reputation.”

“Well neither do I.”

“I guess, yeah. Just keep in mind, he’s older and probably not the best guy.”

“Whatever,” Lance said dismissively.

 **That stung** , thought Keith. Yet he moved on, as did their conversation. At about ten they hung up, Lance had to be well rested for his date. Keith perused Tumblr until three a.m. like a normal person.

 

* * *

 

After work the next day, Lance drove to the cafe for his date. Lotor was waiting outside, handsome as ever.

“Hey,” Lotor said, is voice like honey as Lance approached.

“Hey,” Lance replied, kicking himself mentally. **What are you? A parrot? Get your own greeting.**

 Lotor held the door for Lance, a move Lance wasn’t used to, he was typically the door holder. He realized that going on a date with a boy meant that the cut-and-dry gender roles he’d come to rely on wouldn’t apply here. He shrugged it off.

Lotor ordered first, he got a mocha cappuccino with a dark chocolate fudge drizzle, to go. Lance thought that was a tad strange until Lotor leaned over and told him to get his to go as well. He complied, and placed an order for a white-chocolate iced coffee in a to-go cup. He got out his wallet but Lotor rested his hand on Lance’s arm, “I’ll cover this, beautiful.”

Lance let him pay, rather surprised that he’d been called beautiful so casually, as if he and Lotor had been together much longer. They got their drinks and Lotor motioned for Lance to follow him outside of the cafe. Once outside, Lotor said calmly, “I figured we’d go for a walk, get to know each other better without interruption.”

Lance was a little perturbed, he’d agreed to coffee, but he didn’t see the harm in a walk, so he went with it.

“So, you’re in college, right? What do you study?” Lance asked.

“I’m a political science major and a theater minor.”

“Really? I’m super into theatre. What are some of your favorite shows?” Lance asked, his brain jumped to some of his favorites.

“I prefer the classics, Shakespeare’s works. Othello and The Taming of the Shrew are some of his best works in my opinion.”

Lance panicked. Of course he likes Shakespeare. **This guy’s super cool and classy. Why wouldn’t he? You’re going to look like such a child in front of him.**

“I’m playing the lead in Hamlet this weekend.”

Thank the lord he didn’t ask me what plays I like, “Oh really? Cool, where?”

“The local theater ‘La Marquee’.”

Lance had never heard of that place, “Cool, are tickets a lot?”

“Five dollars a person, it’s at noon and seven on Saturday, if you’re interested.”

 **Wow I’m sooo subtle.** “That sounds really interesting. I might go.”

“It’s pretty well done and the lead is stellar, if you ask me.” He winked jovially.

“I’ll see about that.”

They chatted as they walked. It changed from evening, to dusk, to night.

They eventually decided to go back, Lotor said he needed to stop by his apartment, which was near the coffee shop. They strolled up to the door.

“Would you like to come inside?” Lotor asked. He gave Lance _The Look_ ™. Lance knew that look, he’d _given_ that look before.

And just like every time Lotor brought something up, he agreed.

 

* * *

 

Keith sat on his bed, awake, waiting like a puppy, for a call from Lance.

It never came.

He wondered, he worried. **What happened? What if he got mugged on his way home or something? What if he was drugged and abducted and he’ll be found in an alleyway with no kidneys? What if he’s still with Lotor?**

**He’s still with Lotor.**

**That’s what it is.**

Keith’s stomach flipped, his mouth tasted bitter. **I hope he’s okay.**

**If anything happens it’s your fault.**

**You should have told him.**

**I know.**

**Why didn’t you?**

**Because I…**

**Because you what? You can’t even try to scrape up a feeble excuse to justify your inaction. You know first hand what Lotor is like.**

**He seemed so happy maybe they’ll fit together.**

**Lotor is twenty-two. Lance is seventeen.**

**Yeah, that’s kinda gross. But if Lance knows I’m sure it’s fine.**

**Does Lance know?**

**I, I don’t know. I can’t do anything about it now.**

**Call him?**

**NO.**

**Well I guess you’ll find out tomorrow.**

**Yeah…**

Keith slept like a baby, that is to say, he woke up a dozen times with the urge to cry. He never did.

 

* * *

 

Lance laid awake in an unfamiliar bed, the smell of eggs wafting through the air. For a moment, he was confused, until he woke up a little more and the previous night’s… shenanigans returned to his mind.

**Holy cow I’m gay?**

**You just slept with a man. That’s pretty gay.**

**But girls?**

**Yes, also girls.**

**Bi?**

**I suppose so.**

Lance, having gotten over his crisis of sexuality remarkably quickly, got up. He put on his clothes, which were in a neat pile next to the bed. He wandered out of the room to find an upscale open floor plan apartment, Lotor was in the kitchen area cooking.

“Good morning, beautiful,” Lotor said, not looking up.

“Good morning,” Lance was surprised, once again, by the ‘beautiful’ and the fact that he’d woken up late.

**Crap, what time is it?**

“What time is it?” Lance asked hurriedly.

“In a rush? It’s seven a.m.”

“No, no, I just have work at eight.”

“Well then stay awhile, I made breakfast.”

Lance sat at the breakfast bar. He took in the lavish apartment, **Isn’t he in college? How does he afford all this?** His eyes then fell on Lotor, whose shampoo-commercial hair was pulled into a high ponytail. **Wow, he’s super hot. What could someone like that see in me?**

“So, I’ll just say it. Is this a one time thing?” Lance asked.

“Do you want it to be?”

“No, not really.”

Lotor turned around and set a plate of scrambled eggs on the counter in front of Lance. He put his elbows down and rested his chin in his palms. “I agree.”

“Oh?” Lance’s voice cracked.

 “Why don’t we meet up after my, play,” he leaned closer and traced his finger across Lance’s jawline, “and see how things go from there?” Their noses were almost touching, Lotor just graced Lance’s lips with a soft kiss then immediately went back to making breakfast as if nothing happened.

“Okay.” Lance said, kind of breathlessly.

He ate his food, said goodbye to Lotor and walked to his car, which was only a block away.

**So. That was a thing. A good thing. I’m looking forward to seeing him again.**

**So to work?**

**To work.**

And so, to work he went.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Fact #1: Lotor's father is the mayor, he has been for quite a while. They don't get along, but Lotor's very rich anyway.  
> Fun Fact #2: Lotor's opinions on Shakespeare are garbage and so is he.  
> Fun Fact #3: Personally as in they slept together that one time. In case you didn't catch that. Throwback to chapter 15.  
> Fun Fact #4: Keith has a bad habit of not looking at the caller I.D. on his phone. He's kind of an idiot.


	26. In Which It's Just An Exposition Dump Clip Show

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Angst, Pidge's backstory, The perspective focuses on my boy Hunk for like, two seconds, Pidge is kind of an asshole, Coran is confirmed surrogate father, and Lotor is confirmed a complete and absolute ASSHOLE.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey y'all! Merry Christmas my dudes. I'm kinda behind with writing, but like, I have a whole week of no school!! So my friend just needs to get on my ass about writing because I can't do it myself.  
> Also, in case you didn't know, Juniors are the third year of high school, they're usually 16-17.

Keith watched from a distance. Looking disheveled, wearing the same clothes as the day prior, Lance came in.

 

In an instant, Keith knew where he was last night.

 

He didn’t need to ask, didn’t need an answer, an explanation. Lance wasn’t his to control, wasn’t his at all. All he could do now was hope, hope that Lance said okay. 

 

As Lance came closer, Keith didn’t need that answer either. His sly smile and self-assured stance confirmed what he’d thought. He’d’ve breathed a sigh of relief if not for the fact that he’d’ve prefered that Lance and Lotor had never met. 

 

A wave of insecurity hit him, then a wave of blankness. He’d become so accustomed to shutting off his feelings after the loss of his father that it came naturally. Being around Lance had started to help him open up, but now it hit him harder than ever. 

 

Lance had finally sidled his way up to the counter, then slid over it. He stood next to Keith, oblivious as always. “So. Guess what I did last night,” he said to Keith with a smirk.

 

“I don’t really need to guess if you don’t zip your hoodie up a bit more. No one does,” he replied, skating the line between salt and acid lacing his voice.

 

Lance casually zipped up his hoodie, just beginning to note that Keith was  _ off _ . “Are you mad I didn’t call last night? I was kinda preoccupied.”

 

“I can tell. But no. I don’t expect you to call everyday. You don’t need to.”

 

Lance examined Keith’s profile. He noted that Keith’s eyes were fixed on something directly ahead, a move to avoid eye contact. Something was  _ definitely  _ off here. “‘Kay”

 

“I’m going to clean. Something.” Keith said, his words clipped short. He stalked off toward the section filled with college textbooks.

 

With Keith off to angst, Lance had no one to gossip with at the counter. He went to talk to Hunk.

 

* * *

 

That night, Pidge listened closely from her room as everyone else left. As far as they knew, she was already at home, she had a doctor’s appointment.

 

As far as her mom and her mom’s new boyfriend knew, she was at a friend’s house for the past week.

 

And as far as she knew, she wasn’t planning on letting anyone actually find out what she was doing here.

 

Of course, one reason was that she was avoiding going ‘home’. She didn’t consider that home. Not when Matt and her father weren’t there, not when it was a place where she couldn’t feel accepted being ‘she’. 

 

But she needed a place where she could do her work.

 

She knew that Matt and her father were still alive, they were out there, somewhere. She was determined to find them. 

 

Pidge flumped down into her spinny chair, she still recalled the day that her father and brother didn’t come home. The call that they got the next morning from her father’s work, saying that he and Matt, who was an intern there, didn’t show up. She remembered watching the news with her mother that morning. 

 

A car, crashed into the river had been found, empty. 

 

_ “Maybe it’s not them.”  _ Her mother had said, back when she had hope.

 

_ “The car is a green VW Beetle, license plate says ‘S-C-I-E-N-C-E’. If you recognize this car or license, and know any information on the owners, please call the local police.” _ The newswoman rattled off, a normal day for her. She was unaware of the lives she’d condemned with each and every perfectly formed word.

 

_ “Mom, that’s them. That’s their car.”  _ She whipped her head around to look at her mom,  _ “What do we do?” _

 

Her mother’s face was frozen in disbelief. Tears streaked down her face. 

 

_ “Mom?” _

 

_ “Honey, go upstairs.” _

 

_ “Mom, are Matt and Dad okay?” _

 

_ “Now” _

 

Pidge slunked upstairs. She nervously bit at her nails while she heard her mother on the phone.

 

_ “Hello, yes, I know who owns that car. My husband, Thomas Holt.” _

 

_ “He didn’t come home after work last night.” _

 

_ “No, of course that isn’t a common occurrence. My son was with him.” _

 

_ “Is there any trace of where the people in the car went?” _

 

Pidge couldn’t bear to listen. Her brother and father were gone. What could’ve happened? The roads last night were clean. The sky was clear.

 

She shook the memory out of her head. She had work to do. 

 

It was about 4 a.m. before she passed out in her chair. She woke up two hours later, shivering, her headphones still on.

 

**This can not be healthy.**

 

* * *

 

Pidge’s behavior was indeed not healthy, but like she did about many unhealthy things, she gave no shits.

 

In the following months, things between Lotor and Lance continued. Lance called Keith occasionally during mid-August but at some point he’d mysteriously stopped calling and started avoiding Keith entirely. Keith had no idea why.  **Was it something I said?** He’d wonder,  **Did he find out I like him and get weirded out?** He had no idea what the real reason that Lance stopped calling was not entirely his fault.

 

* * *

 

Hunk waited at the airport, knee jiggling, flowers in hand. His significant other was coming back today, just a week before school started. He watched with baited breath as the passengers entered the airport. More people left. And more. Finally, Shay walked out, a blaze of jetlag and freedom. After their family had greeted them, they saw Hunk, although being completely pooped, Shay’s face split into a wide grin. Shay’s family parted and they ran into Hunk’s waiting arms, making him drop his flowers.

 

“I missed you.” They said.

 

“You too.” He replied

 

* * *

 

Lance’s swim season started, Shay returned from their trip, and before anyone in the library knew it, school started.

 

Junior year was difficult to say the least. Girls, unaware of Lance suddenly being taken, flirted with him constantly, only to get shot down. Keith slogged through the year. Alone. It hurt more this year, because unlike every year prior, he had the chance for a friend, but he mucked that right up.

 

* * *

 

A crisp day in late September, Keith leaned on the counter, attempting his physics homework.

 

Between swim practice and his boyfriend, Lance rarely made it to the library.

 

Shiro was more stressed than ever about his impending marriage.

 

Speak of the devil, Shiro hurried upstairs right in front of Keith. “Keith, we have the final fitting tonight, don’t forget.”

 

“Yep,” Keith replied despondently.

 

“And we need to re-order the ties because they’re the wrong shade of purple.”

 

“Yep.”   
  


“And the caterer- Is something wrong?”

 

Keith sighed, this was the first time his brother had nothiced his emo behavior. “Yeah, kinda, I mean it’s the usual stuff, alone at school, my one friend is avoiding me. No big deal really.”

 

“Keith, I’m sorry,” Shiro had no idea what to give for advice. He’d always been very popular in school.

 

“It’s not your fault, I just need to get my mind off it. What about the caterer?”

 

Shiro hesitated, “Well he needs to know to make lactose free options. And…”

 

Shiro jabbered on excitedly for ages until his cell rang and he rushed away to answer it.

 

“He’s a lucky guy,” A voice behind Keith said.

 

Keith jumped and turned to see Pidge, holding a cup of coffee. Keith had noticed that she hadn’t been without one at all recently. She was constantly drinking coffee these days. Did she ever sleep?

 

“Uh, what? Yeah, I guess.”

 

She took a sip, “My brother would’ve killed to be at the wedding,” she took another drink. “But, of course, he’d’ve prefered to be the groom.”

 

“What?”

 

“Oh yeah, Matt had the hugest crush on Allura, even worse than you and Lance. But Shiro stole that right away from him.”

 

Keith’s face reddened, “Just had to bring that up, didn’t you?”

 

“Ooo, sore spot? Something wrong in your shitty little love story?” She asked mockingly.

 

Keith lost his already shortened temper, “Why are you even out here? Don’t take your family troubles out on me. Go hide away in your little office like you always do, maybe if you wait a little longer your mom will care enough to come find you.”

 

Pidge looked into her mug as if it would comfort her. “Yeah.” She turned and went back into her room.

 

Keith instantly felt like a trash person. Pidge didn’t deserve that. Well, she did a little, but he should be there for her instead of being a hypocrite and lashing out.

 

He groaned and let his forehead hit the table with a  **_fwump_ ** .

 

* * *

 

Allura sat opposite Coran at a rather fancy cafe. They ate an overpriced brunch.

 

“So… I’m getting married,” Allura said.

 

“That you are,” Coran replied.

 

“And my father won’t be there to walk me down the aisle, of course.”

 

“Yes?” Coran had an idea of where this was going.

 

“So I’d be very grateful if you’d-”

 

“-Yes! Of course! I’d be honored!” Coran practically yelled. He started tearing up.

 

“Coran please, you’re making a scene,” Allura said, feeling the sudden need to cover her face. 

 

But Coran didn’t care. He was happy.

 

* * *

 

Lance laid in bed, on the phone with his boyfriend.

 

“So babe, the colors for the wedding are purple and pink. Maybe don’t wear those, since you aren’t part of the wedding party,” Lance said.

 

Lotor chuckled in a way that made Lance feel a little pang in his chest, and not a good pang, “I’m not going.”

 

“What? Really? You said you were free.”

 

“Yeah, and now I’m not.”

 

“But-”

 

“It’s not a big deal, don’t worry about it.”

 

Lance wanted to protest, he didn’t get why Lotor never seemed to be interested in anything that Lance was, but expected him to like everything Lotor did, “Yeah, you’re right.”

 

“I’m glad it’s not worrying you that much, so our dinner plans this weekend?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Fact #1: Shiro was popular in school because he and his girlfriend are babes.   
> Fun Fact #2: Pidge is as bitter as her coffee. She's sad and angry and tired. She needs help.  
> Fun Fact #3: I'm taking physics! I'm a sophomore!


	27. In Which Two Cuties Get Married

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marriage! A beautiful thing! A life choice! Maybe a good idea for some couples!   
> Shallura wedding! Reception!! Keith gets drunk!!! Lance and Keith leave together???!!!! ;);););)  
> What will happen???? Tune in next time for another exciting installment of this crap!!!!!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yoyoyoyo. Merry Christmas home boiiiis. Or Merry Tuesday home boiiiis. It's a Tuesday, but since I celebrate Christmas and I'm in a giving mood, you get a shit ton of garbage writing.  
> Leave comments! Please!!! It's the only thing keeping me going!!!!   
> And read the fun facts! You probably do anyway! Those are important for things that might not be entirely clear.  
> I love all y'all who've read this. It means so so so much to me. I really pour my heart and soul into this.

The wedding took place in early October, on the eighth, which just so happened to be their eighth anniversary. It was a crisp day, but warm, perfect weather for a wedding. It took place on a boat, the “S.S. Loveboat”, a cringy name for a very cute wedding gimmick. The lovebirds had booked it for the wedding, the reception and the morning after. It was a small wedding, only the library staff and a few of Allura and Shiro’s closest friends. Of course the Shiroganes were there and Coran. It was absolutely beautiful, the perfect wedding for the perfect couple.

 

Both halves of which were  **_FREAKING THE FUCK OUT_ **

 

* * *

 

“Keith I’m getting married,” Shiro said, the panic clear in his voice.

 

“Yep,” Keith said, as if he’d run through this a million times, which he had.

 

“To the most beautiful girl in the world.”

 

“Yep,” he repeated.

 

“And she picked me, Takashi Shirogane, some dipshit who wants to be a doctor in classic literature,  _classic literature,_ Keith.”

 

“Yep,” he said, exasperated at this point.

 

“I couldn’t even deal with having two arms, Keith, how am I supposed to manage having a wife?”

 

Keith put his hands on Shiro’s face, smushing it from either side, “And you won’t even be able to replace this one with a robot.”

 

“Mph mm hmph”

 

“You’ll do just fine. You’ve been husband material since forever. She loves you so much, anyone in the room with the two of you can see that. It’s so cute it’s almost gross.” Keith removed his hands.

 

“Keith we’ve never even…” Shiro trailed off as if embarrassed. 

 

“What.”

 

“We’ve never done the thing. You know, the thing,” Shiro wiggled his eyebrows.

 

“Shiro, you’re a goddamned twenty-five year old, you can say sex.”

 

“Well we’ve never done that. Yeah.”

 

“Seriously?”

 

“Well once we got to the point where we felt we were ready, it became pretty clear that we’d get married, so we didn’t really see the point. And neither of us found it ‘necessary’ so we just never got around to it.”

 

Keith was surprised, he’d just assumed that they’d had sex before, “Really?”

 

Shiro just gave him a look, “Yes of course really.”

 

“Well, I’m sure it won’t be a problem.”

 

Shiro checked his watch, “It’s time to go.”

 

Keith patted Shiro’s shoulder reassuringly. “You can do this.”

 

* * *

 

“Oh my God I can’t do this.” Allura said, staring at herself in the floor-length mirror on the wall of her dressing room.

 

“Of course you can, hun,” Thalia, Allura’s maid of honor and best friend said.

 

“This is the biggest decision I’ve ever made. I’m getting married. That’s ridiculous, I’m basically a kid.”

 

“You’re twenty-five,” Pidge said from across the room.

 

“I don’t feel twenty-five,” Allura sighed.

 

“It’s okay, love, but you are, and you’re getting married, aren’t you excited?” Thalia asked, squeezing her shoulders.

 

“Of course! I mean, marriage. That’s amazing, I’ve been dreaming of this day since I was a kid.”

 

“And it’s all set, it’ll be your dream wedding and your dream man.”

 

Allura smiled, a genuine smile, she was about to get married to a guy she’d loved for eight years. “Yeah.”

 

She turned around to look at Thalia and Pidge, “How do I look?”

 

“Beautiful.” Thalia said, tearing up, “Oh you look so  _ so _ beautiful.”

 

“You look like a space princess. Like, a princess, but from space,” Pidge added.

 

“Yeah, that’s the point.” She smiled, her dress was sleek with a halter collar. She had long white gloves and a trailing veil.

 

There was a knock at the door, Coran’s voice rang out from the other side, “Everyone decent?”

 

“Yes!” The ladies all said.

 

He popped his head in, his huge grin barely fitting through the door, “It’s time,”

 

* * *

 

Shiro stood stiff as a board at the front of the aisle. His smile felt starched, he couldn’t stop smiling if he tried. He was so happy and in love. 

 

The music started playing and people started walking down the aisle.

 

More and more people came, he glanced at Keith for a reassuring smile. 

 

Pidge frolicked down the aisle, throwing pink flower petals and purple paper stars with the biggest shit-eating grin the world had ever seen.

 

Eventually, an ethereal beauty glided down the aisle, arm-in-arm with her surrogate father. He looked about like he was about to explode from pride. And she was grinning from ear-to-ear. 

 

They walked down the aisle, to Shiro. He extended his hand and took hers. They stood in front of Hunk’s mother, Keala, who began her spiel. 

 

Both Allura and Shiro teared up during their respective vows. Shiro more so than Allura. But after, they could barely stop grinning enough to do the “You may now kiss the bride” part.

 

All in all, it was super fucking cute.

 

* * *

 

After the ceremony, Shiro swept Allura right off her feet, presumably to carry her to the reception hall. As per tradition, she threw the bouquet, quite haphazardly. She gave her husband a peck on the cheek as they left.

 

The pink flowers flew through the air. The bride’s maids swatted and jumped for them. They knocked the bouquet off course. They didn’t quite expect Allura to be  **_so mother-fucking strong._ **

 

They bounced over the ladies and landed smack dab in Keith’s lap, knocking his phone out of his hands.

 

Keith chuckled awkwardly and tossed the bouquet off to the side.

 

Of course, Lance was standing off to the side, talking to fellow groom’s man, Hunk. The bouquet smacked him in the thigh.

 

He picked it up with a smirk. “Hey buddy, I think you dropped this,” he said, turning to Keith.

 

Keith stood and snatched the flowers out of Lance’s hands. His face was almost the same color. “Yeah, thanks.”

 

Lance gave him a smile then turned to Hunk. Keith stared at the flowers in his hands. He sighed, love-stricken.

 

“That was cute.”

 

“Holy FUCKING GOD, PIDGE!” Keith yelped. He jumped up at least two feet in the air.

 

“Chill,” she said, “I only commented on your little crush.”

 

“Hey, not so loud, he’s like, right there.”

 

“He’s too busy brooding to pay attention, don’t worry.”

 

Keith looked over at Lance, his body language did give him a rather broody air.

 

“What’s wrong with him?” Keith asked, his voice laced heavily with concern.

 

“Don’t you think he’s missing someone?”

 

“If you’re talking about Lotor, he’s better off without the douche.”

 

“Whoa-ho-ho bitter much? But my point is, he’s vulnerable and lonely, I bet a strapping young lad such as yourself could do quite a bit to cheer him up.”

 

“Mm hmm…”

 

“And with Lotor gone, he could realize that you’re obviously the better fit for him because you’re actually available and aren’t treating him like a glorified booty-call.”

 

“Yeah… no. That would be taking advantage of his emotional state. What I will do is be there for him if he needs me.”

 

“Yeah, have fun with that.”

 

But of course, what Keith meant by “be there for him” was completely ignore him and his own feelings in favor of being lonely.

 

**Now’s the perfect time, romantic thoughts from the wedding, missing boyfriend, you look nice for once, you could seduce him!**

 

**_Stooooppp_ **

 

**Bitch no.**

 

**Bitch yes.**

 

**Look, I’m just saying that Pidge is right. If you really want to get into Lance’s pants so bad, you have the prime opportunity right now.**

 

**You’re worse than the SQUIP.**

 

**A musical reference? Seriously? In your own head?**

 

**Yeah. Maybe you’ll get short-circuited if I drink, just like the SQUIP does.**

 

**Keith no.**

 

**Keith** **_yes._ **

 

* * *

 

After about an hour, the reception was in full swing. Allura and Coran danced the father-daughter dance, which was exaggerated and goofy. The newlyweds then did their dance, an intricate, perfectly synched dance. It was obviously rehearsed, but it looked freaking amazing.

 

Now the dance floor was bouncing to some peppy pop song.

 

And Lance was sitting off to the side, angsting about the absence of his boyfriend. To top it off, this was a wedding, just rubbing his nose in this absurd amount of absolutely pure, fluff, fairy tale romance that he wasn’t getting to experience. He’d then kick himself,  **Be happy for them, dickweed.** He sat in this cycle of moping, kicking, and repeating until a voice broke through.

 

“Penny for your thoughts?”

 

Lance looked up from his empty champagne glass so see Keith sitting, hand on hip, champagne glass in the other.

 

Was he... tipsy? That was slightly out of character for the preexisting in-universe rules set for his personality. Lance wasn’t sure how to play this, here’s this cute boy, right in front of him, who isn’t one to get drunk at all, ever, and his over-protective boyfriend was annoyingly absent. However, Lance was a good person, in general, so nothing even crossed his mind. 

 

Instead, he snorted, “You’d be paying too much.”

 

“This feels deja vu-y.” Keith said, as if thinking deeply. 

 

“Yeah, it feels like we’ve had this conversation before. I’m in the mood to talk though. Wanna sit?” Lance gestured to the chair next to him.

 

Keith shrugged, “Okay I guess.”

 

Then he promptly plunked right down into Lance’s lap, ignoring the open chairs at the table all around him. Hunk, who was on the dance floor with Shay, raised an eyebrow at this display.

 

Lance just mouthed the words, “What do I do?”

 

Hunk replied, mouthing, “Want help?”

 

Lance’s eyes flicked to Keith then back to Hunk. He shook his head, thinking  **I’ve got this.**

 

He did not have this.

 

Keith faced Lance, staring deeply into his eyes, “So, what’s wrong?”

 

Lance paused, swallowing the immense lump of pure gay that had lodged in his throat, “Well Lotor just decided that this wedding wasn’t important to go to and just refused to go,”

 

Keith leaned on Lance’s shoulder, “Mmhm,”

 

“And he just, expects me to go along with whatever he wants to do, because he’s like that.”

 

“Mmhm,”

 

“But he’s so good-looking and like, he’s  _ awesome _ in bed,”

 

“Mmhm”

 

“But he’s just so emotionally unavailable sometimes, like he’s not even there for me most of the time, it’s more likely that you are.”

 

“Yeah,”

 

“Which is the worst, because he’s gotten super possessive and weird about me being around you at all. He blocked your number out of my phone even.”

 

“Mmhmm,”

 

“And like, I really miss talking to you, or being around you at all.”

 

“Your glass is empty!” Keith said, apparently progressively getting more drunk as the alcohol kicked in. 

 

“Yeah, your point?”

 

“You need a drink. You gotta loosen up, Lancey Lance.” Keith hopped up and grabbed Lance’s glass, “I’ll get one for you, don’t worry.” He winked and left.

 

“You don’t have to- aaand he’s gone,” Lance sighed.

 

Hunk walked up to the table, supporting Shay, who’s feet were hurting because no matter the gender, pumps make your legs look great and your feet hurt like a butt cheek on a stick. They eased into some chairs, and Hunk gave Lance a look. “So, what was with Keith?”

 

“I don’t really know? He’s drunk I think.”

 

Hunk looked around through the crowded dance floor, “How the heck did he get drunk?”

 

Shay piped up, “The bartender isn’t really paying attention. I don’t think anyone is. They’re all too focused on the happy couple.”

 

Lance laughed with an almost rueful edge, “One of many.”

 

Hunk smiled and took Shay’s hand, “Speaking of, where’s Lotor?”

 

Lance sighed heavily, “I don’t know. He’s just, like this. It’s whatever.”

 

Shay made a face, they’d not heard much about Lotor, but they knew about relationships, “Has he said anything suspicious, does he do this a lot?”

 

“No, no, don’t worry about it. It’s nothing.”

 

Keith teetered over to the group, holding two drinks, “I’m ba-ack!”

 

He actually sat down  _ next _ to Lance this time, taking the last chair at the table. “I got you a drink~” Keith said.

 

“Thanks.” Lance deadpanned in return. He wasn’t really sure if he wanted anything, the last time he got drunk it was not fun.

 

“Aren’t you going to drink it?” Keith asked, puppy eyes hitting a critical twenty.

 

Lance downed the glass, without thinking. Well, that wasn’t entirely true. In fact, he’d really thought,  **I must make this boy happy at all costs.**

 

“Oh, do you want another?” Keith asked.

 

“Nonono, it’s okay.” Lance made a ‘calm down’ sort of gesture.

 

“Mmmm, ‘kay”

 

Lance faced back to Hunk and Shay, “What do I do about him?”

 

Hunk and Shay looked at each other, then Keith, then Lance. Shay shrugged. Hunk said, “Just, keep him safe, stay responsible,” he checked his watch, “It’s getting kinda late, Shay’s going to head to bed,” he turned to his date, “I’ll walk you to your room, I’m probably going to turn in too.” He stood up and took one last look at the mess that was about to happen. “Don’t do anything stupid.”

 

“Yep,” Lance said as he looked back at Keith, who’d scooched his chair closer to lean on Lance.

 

He watched Hunk leave, hand-in-hand with Shay.  **I’m going to guess that they’re the new Shiro and Allura.**

 

“Pay attention to meee…” Keith said in a muffled voice. His face was resting on Lance’s back.

 

“Okay, okay, you have my attention,” he turned around to look at this doofus sitting next to him.

 

“You’re pretty.”

 

Lance raised an eyebrow, “So I’ve heard.”

 

“But you keep avoiding me.”

 

Lance’s face tightened, “Look, it’s not your fault. It’s Lotor. He’s great, but like, he gets super jealous and honestly it’s not even that big of a deal, I can talk to whoever.”

 

“Fuck Lotor.”

 

Lance nose-laughed, “Yeah, I have.”

 

Keith suddenly got a really excited look on his face, “Let’s go dance.”

 

“Oh-kaay, sure.”

 

They got up and started to dance. Lance found himself drinking more. His whole world seemed to be focused on the beauty in front of him, hair mussed, dancing like he’d be dead tomorrow. In this moment, Keith looked like the most beautiful person alive. He smiled. Keith suddenly adopted a coy smirk. He stood on his tiptoes and whispered in Lance’s ear, “We should get out of here," in what one could take as a rather suggestive tone.

 

Lance’s heart skipped a beat, “I was thinking the same thing.”

 

Keith lead him out of the main room, and away from the din of the party.

 

They were alone.

 

Lance was really, truly, happy for the first time in a while.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Fact #1: The cruise wedding was actually based off my parents' wedding!   
> Fun Fact #2: This does not reflect on my personal opinions about people who choose to get doctorates in classic literature.  
> Fun Fact #3: Thalia was named after Thalia from Percy Jackson because I'm a neeeerd.  
> Fun Fact #4: Twenty-five is pretty young to get married, but it's ultimately your own choice who, when, and if you marry.  
> Fun Fact #5: Allura's dress is supposed to look similar to he dress from the show (but in white). But going into too much detail isn't very fun to read.  
> Fun Fact #6: Pidge was so fucking pumped that she got to be the flower girl.  
> Fun Fact #7: Keala is a judge. Even though the wedding looks pretty traditional, I didn't include religion because I know nothing about it!  
> Fun Fact #8: Allura lifts.  
> Fun Fact #9: Be More Chill reference.  
> Fun Fact #10: This chapter is so full of role reversal it's wack.  
> Fun Fact #11: I still have no idea how being drunk works.  
> Fun Fact #12: Hunk has really good intuition about people in general. If he doesn't trust someone, there's a reason. Even if that reason isn't entirely clear.  
> Fun Fact #13: Dungeons and Dragons reference.  
> Fun Fact #14: Shay has a very strict curfew, and they and Hunk uphold it, even when their parents aren't around.  
> Fun Fact #15: This won't be the only marriage over the course of this story.


	28. In Which Some Stuff Happens.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> (To the tune of the Prologue of Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812)  
> Lance is in love, Keith is hungover, and Keith's Mem'ry isn't here~

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 'Sup fuckos. Thanks for reading. Hope y'all had a great holiday season. Or great past two weeks. Yeah, I haven't uploaded much, but like, I have a life.  
> *laughter*  
> Yeah, yeah, no I don't. I have a thing for procrastination.   
> So, ignore my personal problems, read the chapter!! I love reading your comments so so so much!!!

Keith woke up, he kept his eyes closed, trying to hear anything that would clue him into what was going on. 

 

He was kinda cold, his back hurt and he had a splitting headache. 

 

**Great. I’m in physical pain.**

 

He opened his eyes slowly, so they could get accustomed to the bright room.

 

**Owwww……**

 

He slowly sat up and looked around.

 

Articles of clothing were strewn about, not the big pieces, he had his pants and shirt on, but stuff like his socks, belt, jacket, that sort. There also seemed to be what was an entire deck of cards scattered through the room. However, the bed was pristenely made, untouched. His top few shirt buttons were undone.

 

He gathered everything, a vest, a jacket, a tie, his shoes, two belts, and a single dress sock.

 

He knew which belt was his, his had a mark on the back where he accidentally ran it over with his computer chair.

 

But who the heck’s belt was in his room?

 

Why were there playing cards everywhere?

 

And where was his other sock?

 

* * *

 

Lance sat on the floor of the en suite bathroom, panic welling in his chest.

 

He wasn’t as hungover as Keith, he’d drunk a lot of water the night before.

 

And he remembered a lot more.

 

But this wasn’t on his mind, what was was  **Don’t come in, don’t come in, please, if God exists, don’t come in.**

 

Why? Because he was hiding out in a bathroom with someone in the other room and it would probably not be beneficial for him to be found.

 

He heard scuffling in the bedroom adjacent to the bathroom, an annoyed sigh, and finally the sound of someone leaving the room.

 

Lance breathed a sigh of relief. He stood an opened the door slightly, just enough to poke his face out to see an empty room. He opened the door the rest of the way and picked his belt off the floor, which, in his rush to hide away from his emotions, he’d forgotten.

 

He looked around, there was a dress sock on top of a wardrobe, almost too high for him to grab, but he got it down and tossed it onto the bed, which was still completely made.

 

He slipped his belt through the loops on his pants and sauntered out of the room, just a little anxious about who he’d see at breakfast.

 

* * *

 

“Sorry, there aren’t a lot of dairy-free options, kiddo,” Shiro said to a very bedraggled Keith.

 

“Don’t call me kiddo, old man,” Keith snapped back, “And yeah, I could tell, thanks for that.”

 

Shiro gave him his trademarked disapproving dad look, “If you’re going to be a brat then you can go home and get something there.”

 

“Unless you expect me to swim, I don’t think that’d be the best option.”

 

Shiro gave him an even more annoyed glare, “There are eggs and fruit, you crab, but I’m going to enjoy my waffles with my beautiful wife in peace, thank you.” He started to walk away before looking over his shoulder and adding, “And you should probably button your shirt all the way up.”

 

Keith rolled his eyes at Shiro’s back. Shiro was enamoured with the fact that Allura was his wife, he’d dropped the word at least three times prior in their conversation. Keith walked to the breakfast bar and grabbed an apple, he wasn’t much of a breakfast person.

 

Lance walked in, looking like a nervous wreck that was really trying to hide how nervous of a wreck he was. Keith glanced at him then quickly away, which didn’t help Lance’s nervous wreckishness in the slightest.

 

**Oh my God he hates you,** Lance thought.

 

**He does, he thinks we slept together and he’s going to hate me forever.**

 

**Oh jeez he’s coming over here.**

 

“Hey,” Keith said, fiddling with the stem of the apple in his hand.

 

“Hey,” Lance replied.

 

“Do you want to, uh, grab something to eat and come talk to me?”

 

“Yeah,” Lance forced out.  **No, I want to run back and hide in the bathroom like the weenie I truly am.**

 

Keith walked over to an empty table, and Lance to the breakfast bar.

 

After he’d spent as long as he could getting waffles from the Breakfast bar, Lance walked over to where Keith was disinterestedly poking at an apple.

 

“Hey,” Lance said as he sat down.

 

Keith looked up, “Hey”

 

“Soooo…. I guess you want to know what happened last night?”

 

“Well I was more going to apologize for being so… weird,” he paused, “But if you know anything, tell me please.”

 

“Well we didn’t sleep together,” Lance said with the kind of intonation suggesting that something close happened.

 

“That,” Keith put his forehead in his hands and pushed his bangs up. “That didn’t even occur to me,” he slumped back in his chair and muttered, “Jesus fuck,” just now realizing how much he didn’t know.

 

“Well don’t worry, we didn’t, but, uh, button your shirt up more maybe.”

 

“Why to people keep telling me to do that?”

 

Lance gave him a look that said it all, “Why do you think?”

 

Keith’s face reddened. “Oh,” his voice cracked, “okay.”

 

Lance snorted, “Uh yeah… So what do you remember?”

 

“I was an idiot at the reception, then we left together, that’s it.”

 

“Oof, that’s not much,”

 

“No shit.”

 

“Well we went to a room and played GoFish, or tried to, because you kept looking at my cards, and then we started throwing cards at each other and talking and talking and things escalated, and, uh, yeah.”

 

Keith’s entire face was hidden under his hands. He eventually dragged his hands down his face. “I am so, so sorry.”

 

“It’s fine, just, don’t talk about it, okay?” Lance said in a voice that told Keith it was not fine.

 

“What did I even say?”

 

“Oh, I don’t remember, it’s not important. Did you find your keys?”

 

“Wha- no?” Keith patted his pockets, lo and behold, no keys were found.

 

“I don’t remember where you put them, but you hid them somewhere, do you want help looking?”

 

Keith stood up, he had thinking to do, “No. Thanks though.” He left.

 

Now, as he watched Keith leave, Lance poked at his waffles, he didn’t have much of an appetite because he was too full of lies to want to eat.

 

He remembered everything from last night, every last word Keith had said, every single thing.

 

And he wasn’t sure if he wanted to.

 

* * *

 

Keith took his hand and led him to one of the rooms on the ship for wedding guests.

 

Lance was smiling the whole time like a big goof.

 

They sat on the floor and played GoFish, just as Lance said they did.

 

After the deck of cards had been thrown around, Keith pulled his knees to his chest. “How come you only spent time with Lotor?”

 

“He’s my boyfriend, I have to.”

 

“No you don’t.”

 

“Yes I do.”

 

“Well that’s dumb.”

 

“Nooo….”

 

“Yessss…..”

 

Keith was quiet for a little while. “He’s not even that good in bed,” he muttered.

 

“Well what should I do then? Hmm?”

 

“Not.. date him.”

 

“Well then who would I date?”

 

Keith’s eyes locked with Lance’s, “Me.”

 

“What?” Lance asked, dumbfounded.

 

“I like you, and I was too stupid and afraid to say anything about it and now it’s too late because now you’re dating some much hotter guy that I could never even compare to.” Keith’s eyes started to well up, “And I can’t even muster the courage to talk to you unless I’m fucking drunk. And you’ve been ignoring me and I just let you because I deserve it probably.” He sniffled.

 

Lance crawled over, “Oh nonononononono, don’t cry, don’t cry.”

 

“I’m not crying,” He said, through his crying.

 

Lance wrapped his arms around Keith, “Yeah, you are.”

 

Keith pulled himself together and looked up at Lance. He looked like he wanted to say something, but instead opted to rest his head on Lance’s shoulder.

 

Lance just held him, slowly rubbing his arm, resting his cheek on the top of Keith’s head.

 

“Hey, you know what?” Lance said.

 

“Hm?” Keith miserably hummed in response.

 

“I like you too.”

 

Despite being nearly asleep a moment ago, Keith was wide awake. His head popped up from Lance’s shoulder. “Really?!?”

 

“Yep.”

 

Keith’s grin morphed into a suspicious look, “Prove it.”

 

“How?”

 

Keith grinned wickedly, “Kiss me.”

 

Now Lance had shown prior to this that he was kind of a push over when it came to pretty people. He did basically whatever they wanted. 

 

Like when Nyma asked if he could give her a ride.

 

He did.

 

Like when Lotor said to do pretty much anything.

 

He did.

 

And when Keith told Lance to kiss him,

 

He did.

 

And he did.

 

And he did.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Fact #1: There aren't any good fun facts, so if you have any questions, leave 'em in the comments!! I'll gladly answer anything you ask. Completely honestly, I swear. ;) ;) ;)


	29. In Which Everyone Gets Procrastination Fever

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Lance's problem is quite ironic given the situation. Missus Shirogane is mildly perturbed by getting her room stolen. Lance is conflicted. Keith has a revelation.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter. Read it.  
> Comments. Write them.  
> Thanks. Get them.  
> Bang bang bang.  
> Lezzgo.

Lance grimaced at the memory, not that it was bad, but how it complicated his already complicated life.

 

His friend, who he’d been trying to avoid for a while, had feelings for him, something Lance couldn’t quite fathom, because he still saw no reason why anyone would like him. And speaking of anyone liking him, he had a boyfriend. Who he’d just cheated on. He was drunk, of course, but he cheated nevertheless and felt extremely guilty. What should he do? Tell Lotor? Keep it a secret? Lance stared at his waffle as if it had personally wronged him.

 

**I’m a terrible person.**

 

**I’m never drinking again.**

 

**You said that last time.**

 

**But this time it’s true.**

 

Lance closed his eyes, his waffles didn’t deserve this kind of death-glare. He did.

 

**God you can’t do anything right.**

 

He tossed the rest of his half-eaten breakfast into the garbage can and sulked away.

 

**I suppose I can’t go back to the room I went to last night. Was that even Keith’s room? Did we steal someone’s room to goof off? Jeez.**

 

They did, in fact steal someone’s room. Two people’s shared room. Those two people being the parents of the groom. And the parents of a one Keith Kogane.

 

* * *

 

Mister and Missus Shirogane walked down the hall, hand-in-hand.

 

“I just can’t believe our baby’s all grown up and married. Gosh, do you think we’ll have grandchildren soon? Are we old?” Mrs.Shirogane asked her husband.

 

“Don’t get ahead of yourself, darling. Let’s just focus on getting to bed,” he replied calmly and gave her a quick peck on the top of her head.

 

“Yes yes, you’re right. Ours is 102, right?”

 

“Right as always.”

 

She wobbled over to the door marked 102 on her too-high heels. She opened it, and immediately regretted the decision. 

 

Someone was already in their room. Two people, actually. One of whom was her teenage son. The other, she recognized as one of the kids who worked at the library. They were a bit… preoccupied. She softly closed the door and turned to her husband.

 

“Which room was Keith’s again?”

 

He gave her a confused look, “101, I think. Why?”

 

“I suppose he got confused and went to the wrong one. He’s asleep. I wouldn’t want to bother the poor dear. You know how he gets when you wake him up.”

 

Mr.Shirogane smiled, “Good thinking, not waking up the sleeping bear. To room 101 we go.”

 

They entered the room across the hall which was, thankfully, empty.

 

Mrs.Shirogane decided she’d talk to Keith later.

 

* * *

 

Lance slipped out onto the deck. The air was chilly and grey and his suit jacket wasn’t doing nearly enough to protect him from the sharp autumn breeze.

 

He pulled out his phone and stared at the screen. He drew in a breath.

 

**Maybe I shouldn’t do this.**

 

**You need to. It’s the right thing to do.**

 

Lance dialed the number, fully intending on telling Lotor.

 

Lotor answered after a few rings. He sounded… distracted. “Hello?”

 

“Hi.”

 

“Oh, hi Lance, look I’m busy right now-” he was inturrupted by a loud female voice calling his name, “-Sorry beautiful, I’ve got to go. Maybe we’ll talk later.” He hung up before Lance could reply.

 

Lance shoved his phone back into his pocket and sighed to himself, “Yeah yeah, we will.”

 

The thing is, Lance had been contemplating their relationship lately, he wasn’t sure about it. They’d been dating for a while but Lance didn’t feel a  _ connection  _ of any sort. Well there was a physical connection, but no emotional connection. He enjoyed their time but the more and more he was around Lotor, the emptier the relationship felt.

 

It was a puzzle for sure. But, as he always did, he ignored his problems until they got too big for him to handle on his own.

 

* * *

 

Keith cleaned himself up. He laid on the bed.

 

**This is the worst.** **_I’m_ ** **the worst.**

 

**Yeah, you are.**

 

**How can Lance just act like this is so normal? Like everyone has a drunken almost-hookup at their brother’s wedding.**

 

**Because he fucks anything that moves.**

 

**That’s an awful thing to say. Er... think.**

 

**And we were supposed to be different.** **_I_ ** **was supposed to be different!**

 

**Well you’re not.**

 

**This is unfair.**

 

**Why do you even care? He’s got a boyfriend.**

 

**Yeah…**

 

**The perfect asshole couple.**

 

**Yeah…**

 

**Let him be. He’s a dick anyway.**

 

**But he’s not. He really isn’t.**

 

**It’d be so much easier if he was. But he’s not. He’s nice and it wasn’t his fault. It’s not his fault that he likes to have sex. That’s not my business.**

 

**Well it’s not like you even like him anymore, do you?**

 

A common saying; distance makes the heart grow fonder. Now as idealistic and charming as that saying is, it’s complete bullshit. And Lance had been distancing himself from Keith for quite a while. Keith was beginning to lose his crush on Lance.

 

Now that wasn’t entirely a bad thing. However, this is a romance story, and it’s not over yet.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Fact: There are many words Lance would describe that memory. Bad is not one of them.  
> Fun Fact: It's still not true. I think this will be the last time that Lance gets drunk in this story though.  
> Fun Fact: Who was Lotor calling beautiful?  
> Fun Fact: Keith smad.  
> Fun Fact: Hmm Hmm hmmmm~ Lance love him, he loves him not. He loves him, he loves him not. Who's even following this mixed-up, conflicting feelings melodrama anymore?


	30. In Which It's A Swim Meet Because That's All I Know About

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Water is wet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! You're awesome!! And comments make my heart go all WAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!! Like, happy waa. Ya know?

The crowd cheered around the deck as the final swimmer hit the wall. Lance sighed heavily as he stretched in preparation for his next race. One of his teammates, a sophomore who swam the 100 yard fly in lane 1, came up to him. “You ready for this?” he asked excitedly.

 

Lance gave him the fake-confident smirk he’d mastered, “Hell yeah.”

 

He was lying through his teeth of course, but the sophomore couldn’t tell. To be honest , Lance was worried. He hadn’t been swimming his best this year, and while he’d plateaued, Dalton, the sophomore, was getting better with every stroke. Soon enough Dalton would take lance 3 and Lance would be pushed to the wayside.

 

The swimmers got out of the pool and the next racers walked to the blocks. Lance scanned the stands as he wiped his goggles. Lotor, as usual, wasn't there.  **Of course he’s not here. He never is.** Lance thought bitterly. The sadness weighed on him like drag at a 5a.m. practice.

 

But what was that? A flash of stupid red jacket? A bit of black mullet? Keith????

 

**No that’s stupid, he wouldn’t be here.**

 

**But it’d help if he fucking turned around.**

 

And as if on cue, mysterious mullet man turned around. 

 

And in reply, in the way a dog greets its owner after a trip to the supermarket, Lance’s brain lit up,  **Keith! Keith Keith Keith! He came to see me in the meet!!**

 

He in fact, did not come to see Lance in the meet, he just thought it seemed interesting. He’d come to the high school because he forgot his history textbook. It was a bonus that Lance was in the meet, but it’s not like Keith subconsciously chose this event to attend over anything else because he knew Lance would be there. 

 

But Lance didn’t need to know that. All he needed to know was that Keith was here, at his meet and he was gonna see him swim.

 

**I’m going to impress him. He’s never seen me swim but I’m gonna impress him and he’s gonna think I’m so cool and awesome.**

 

“Swimmers on the block,” The monotone offical’s voice rang over the speakers.

 

Lance stepped up. He put his goggles down and a coy smirk crossed his face before it was quickly replaced with a face hard set in determination, he was not about to let himself down. Not this time.

 

“Take your mark.”

 

Lance assumed the starting position and took a deep, preparatory breath.

 

**_Beep_ **

 

He dove into the water with the grace of something very very graceful. A butterfly, maybe, or a ballerina. In other words, it was a bomb-ass dive. The perfect arc over the water leading into the pool with minimal splash.

 

He flew through the water, and not just because ‘fly’ is shorthand for the stroke he was swimming. 

 

Lance was truly, in that moment, a machine.

 

His heart fluttered as he tried to hold in a grin.  **Where is this coming from?** A joyful energy coursed through him. He sliced through the water as if he was meant for this. Every stroke, every breath, every kick was perfectly aligned to create the elegance and grace that makes a race become an art. 

 

**Holy fuck this is tiring.**

 

**No you’re doing great. Keep it up!! You’re gonna keep going or I’ll fight you!**

 

**I’m you!**

 

In his confusion, he just swam faster. He approached the touchpad and reached his fingers out in his final kick. His hands hit the wall and he bounced off a little bit. He popped his head out of the water, gasping for breath. His arms and legs felt like lead but he managed to pull himself onto the gutter and ask his lane’s timer, “What’s my time?”

 

“What?” the timer replied over the noise of the crowd.

 

“What’s my time?!” Lance asked again, still breathless.

 

“Oh, heh heh… uh…” It felt like an agonizing eternity before the timer finally got it together enough to answer. “57:58? Is that good?”

 

Lance caught his breath. 

 

**Holy fuck. I did it. Oh my freaking God, I did it.**

 

He let go of the wall and drifted down, drowning out the crowd’s raucous cheers.

 

A serene calm flowed over him. Then he kicked back up to the surface to be greeted with the roar of his team. Lance had finally broken his record after a season of mediocre swimming. It was a miracle. 

 

The last swimmer hit the wall and it was understood that they could take their cool down lap. They floated down to the other end in mutual exhaustion. 

 

At the other end Lance’s team greeted him with a thousand grins and congratulations. They clapped him on the back and told him great job. The other team, while mildly confused about the hubbub gave him uneasy smiles and a thumbs up or two. But Lance wasn’t interested in that. He whipped his head around to look at the stands. Keith caught his eyes and gave him a congratulatory smile and a quick wave. Lance’s attention was quickly drawn away, however. Dalton emerged from the water with the biggest fake grin Lance had ever seen.

 

“Good job, man!” he said. He really did mean it. But it was more than a little disappointing when he’d worked so hard to surpass this guy, and all of a sudden he just pulls a record breaking time out of his ass. 

 

“Thanks,” Lance replied.

 

The swim meet continued. Lance found his eyes wandering to the stands, to a certain mullet-boy with questionable fashion sense. 

 

After ages, the meet finally ended. Lance had heard so many “Good job”s and “Congratulations”s that night that he wasn’t even sure that they were words anymore. He just wanted to leave. The emotional high from beating his record had long since left him and now he just felt  **_tired_ ** . Like, soul-leaving-your-body tired, or if-you-move-you-might-actually-disintegrate tired. But the goofy smile stayed on his face. 

 

Everyone had cleared out but a few stragglers. The rest of the team cleaned up the meet stuff.

 

Lance finally dragged himself off the bench and to the locker room where he dried off (though he didn’t really need to anymore) and changed. He loafed out of the empty locker room, letting his fingers graze the lockers as he sighed heavily. Lance strolled down the hallway. He heard someone slam a locker shut. He looked around.

 

**Huh. It’s weird for someone to be here at this hour. I wonder what they’re doing.** He checked his watch.  **Aw, my family’s probably waiting. Jeez.**

 

“Lance!” A voice yelled excitedly.

 

Lance turned to see Keith hurrying down the hallway, history textbook in arm. Lance stopped in his tracks. “Keith?”

 

Keith finally caught up to Lance and gave him a warm smile, “I, uh, I saw your meet!”

 

“Yeah. I saw you there.” Lance suddenly felt immensely self-conscious about… everything. Did his hair look okay? Spoiler alert, it didn’t. 

 

“Yeah, duh, I just wanted to say, uh…” he paused for a moment, “great job.” He smiled again and wrapped his arms tighter around his history textbook. 

 

Lance messed with the back of his damp t-shirt. A casual flex that drew attention to his well-muscled arms and a nervous fidget. “Thanks.”

 

Keith however, was not watching. “Uh, yeah, well, um, good job.” His eyes flitted to Lance before fixing straight back to the floor. “Later?”

 

Lance’s mouth crooked upward. “Yeah. Later.”

 

They both started down the hall. 

 

Keith gave Lance an awkward smile, “We’re, uh, we’re going the same way, huh.”

 

“Yeah, I guess we are.”  

 

They walked together in silence for a bit.

 

“So. History, yeah?” Lance asked, not really sure exactly what he was asking.

 

“History.” Keith replied with a nod.

 

“Uh, what’s up? Like, with you?”

 

Keith looked at Lance from the corner of his eye. “Why do you want to know? You haven’t shown any interest in me for the past month.”

 

“I- I just was trying to make conversation, jeez.” 

 

The air around them went from excited at a chance meeting after a great meet to miserable. 

 

“Keith,” Lance stopped walking, and Keith did too, “Lemme be straight with you,”

 

Keith made a scoff-laugh sound and Lance cracked a smile which eventually bubbled out into laughter. 

 

After they got under control, Lance restarted, “Okay, gay jokes aside, I want to talk. It’s Lotor.”

 

The moment he said Lotor, Keith’s smile dropped from his face, “If you just want to gab about your boyfriend you can talk to someone else. I’m sure I’m not the only friend you’ve been neglecting.” He started to turn away.

 

Lance grabbed his wrist, “Please, I’m not bragging. I… I figured that you’d know what to do. He’s just really distant and possessive.”

 

“Lance that’s not my problem. I tried to warn you, and you just blew me off,” He pulled himself from Lance’s grip, “You can’t just expect me to come right back the second you call. Just let me be angry, okay? I need to get over this and how do you expect me to do that if you just bust back into my life whenever you feel like it!” his voice escalated and crashed down the empty halls. He turned to leave and to make sure that Lance wouldn’t see the tears welling in his eyes.

 

“Keith…” Lance tried.

 

“Good night, Lance.” Keith said forcefully as he walked away. 

 

Lance tried to walk up to him, “Please.”

 

“Good  _ night _ , Lance.” Keith repeated. It was clear that he could barely choke out the words.

 

Lance didn’t follow as he watched Keith walk away.

 

He plastered on a fake smile as he walked into the lobby to greet his family and their white noise of congratulations.

 

* * *

 

That night, Lance picked up his phone. He tapped the call button for “Meme Lord”

 

“What,” Pidge said annoyedly over the phone. “Lance, I told you to text me, not call.”

 

“Yeah, sorry. Pidge, how do you unblock a number from your phone?”

 

Pidge sighed, “Well…”

 

That night, Lance made a choice. A choice he should’ve made long before.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> FUN FACT: Getting under a minute in a 100m fly is RIDIC  
> FUN FACT: Dalton is probably never going to appear again.  
> FUN FACT: The crowd isn't actually THAT big but like, pool rooms are usually really bad to like, hear in.  
> FUN FACT: Keith would not be a good person to ask for relationship advice. What are you even doing Lance?  
> FUN FACT: Lance and I are both not good at technology.


	31. In Which Keith Is Climbing Through Lance's Window But It's Not A Dead Girl Walking Situation, I Swear.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Keith ignores his problems and then dives through their second-story windows. What could go wrong?!?!?!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey hey hey my dudes my gals and my non-binary pals, how's it going? Good? Bad? IDK. But I've got a problemo. The next chapter has Spanish in it and I don't know Spanish. I can't upload the chapter until I have a translation. So I've got a deal for ya. If you translate it for me, I'll give you early access to the next few chapters. That's not much I know, but I'm a kid and i don't have money to offer you. I'd prefer someone who's entirely fluent, please and thanks! Message me at my tumblr; melodramatic3rdwheel if you can do that!! Thank you again! Enjoy the chapter and don't forget to leave a comment, they make me so so so happy!!

Keith rolled his eyes. The past messages and missed calls were all from Lance. 

 

**How does a boy go from totally absent to clingy in a matter of days?**

 

**Why did I even bother getting so worked up about him. Of course the second that I tell him to fuck off, he’s back on my ass.**

 

**Men, am I right?**

 

He listened to the messages and looked at the texts. It was the same sorries and requests that Keith just hear him out.

 

**Maybe I should. Maybe he’s actually reaching out.**

 

**No. He stonewalled you long enough.**

 

His phone bleeped in his hand. It wasn’t a bleep, per se, more of a screech. Pidge, screeching, right into the mic. Anyway, it was his text tone.

 

He checked it.

 

  * hey. do me a solid and call lance because hes resorted to bugging me about you
  * seriously, pidge? 
  * im kinda sick of his shit
  * i know the feeling



 

He sighed. 

 

  * fine. im not calling him first though, i’ll just pick up next time
  * good. just do it or im going to break both of his texting thumbs



 

So Keith waited.

 

* * *

 

It was eleven o'clock when Keith’s phone rang. He picked it up in a heartbeat.

 

“Hello?”

 

Sure enough, it was Lance. “Keith? Keith. Oh my God you picked up.”

 

Keith immediately noticed something was off, “Yeah, yeah I did. Are you okay?”

 

Lance made a weird choke noise. “No, I’m not okay. Can you- can you come over?”

 

“Um, really? It’s late.”

 

“Please, I just need someone to be here right now.”

 

“Of course. I’ll be right over. Do you want me to stay on the phone?”

 

“No, no, It’s okay. Just get here as soon as you can.”

 

Lance hung up before Keith could say any more. 

 

Keith was down the stairs and out the door in less than five minutes. He remembered to leave a note, too.

 

The drive from Keith’s house, which was in town, to Lance’s, which was on the edge of town, usually took a good twenty minutes.

 

He was there in ten.

 

He parked his motorcycle and called Lance. The cold air finally hitting him. It was very late November. Snow would be coming soon. His fingers were going numb.

 

“Hello?” Lance answered. He still sounded like he’d been crying and was about to start again.

 

“Hi Lance, I just got here. How am I getting in your house?”

 

“There’s a… ladder in the shed. Uh, it’s locked but the keys are in my room so if you stand under the window I can toss them down.”

 

"Why am I climbing into your window?"

 

"My floorboards are creaky. It'll wake everyone up."

 

Keith sighed, “Okay, which one is your room?”

 

“Here, I’ll turn the light on.”

 

A light flicked on on the right side of the house. 

 

“Stand underneath and I’ll throw them down.” Lance said.

 

“‘Kay.”

 

Keith walked over to the window and Lance tossed down the keys. Keith picked them up off the ground. He walked over to the shed and fiddled with the keys until he found the right one. He grabbed the ladder and tried his best to get it to Lance’s room as quietly as possible. It curved at the top so it latched onto Lance’s window easily. Keith climbed up to the window like Flynn Rider from Tangled, but with less upper body strength. He finally climbed all the way up and tumbled into the window.

 

“Hi,” Keith said breathlessly.

 

Lance snorted and helped him up, “Hi.”

 

“Lance, are you okay?” Keith asked, straight to the point.

 

“Well, obviously no, if I called you here at…” he checked his watch, “Eleven thirty at night.” He crossed the room and closed the window and replaced the towel that had been sealing the cold air out. “I just, needed someone here right now, before I did something stupid.” His voice shook as he pushed out those last few words.

 

Keith wrapped his arms around Lance, who stood completely still. “Lance… What’s this about?”

 

“It- it’s been a long time coming and I was suspicious, but like, you know. It still hurts a lot when you find out, you know?”

 

Keith held Lance at arm’s length. “What are you talking about?”

 

“Lotor’s been cheating on me. I found this girl- _girls_ on Facebook. They all have recent pictures with him. I contacted them and asked, and- and-” he dissolved into tears and Keith sat him down on his bed.

 

“Hey, hey, it’s okay. It’s okay. It’s better that you found out.”

 

“I don’t really know if it is.”

 

Lance leaned his head on Keith’s shoulder, and Keith wrapped his arm around Lance’s shoulders.

 

“You’ll get through this. He was a douche anyway.”

 

Lance sniffled as Keith rubbed his arm up and down, up and down. It was a soothing gesture that had an immense calming effect on Lance. 

 

They sat together, heart beats synced. The only sounds were Lance’s soft sniffles and the cold wind whistling outside.

 

“Thanks… for coming here. Even though I’ve been a huge dick.”

 

“Lance don’t apologize.”

 

“No, I need to, Keith. Because I didn’t tell you everything about that night, Keith. And I’ve known that, uh, that you like me. For a while. But I’m not even sure if it was true, because you were drunk and we were really in the moment.”

 

Keith tensed for a moment, then sighed heavily, “It was true. Emphasis on was. Why do you think I was so upset about you just ditching me? I’m an emotional gay teenager. That really hurt me.”

 

“Emotional gay teenager? That makes two of us.”

 

Keith laughed lightly. “Yeah.”

 

They sat quietly.

 

“But you liked me. And you don’t anymore. Yeah?”

 

“Yeah, is that weird?”

 

It was weird to Lance, but not in the way one would expect. 

 

**I could’ve dated him. I could’ve made a move.**

 

**No, but you dated a cheating ass instead.**

 

“No. No. It’s not weird.”

 

“You sound weirded out.” Keith withdrew his arm and looked at Lance, “Look, I don’t feel that way anymore. Don’t worry about it.”

 

“I’m not. It’s just… never mind.” Lance put his head back on Keith’s shoulder.

 

“If you want me to leave, I can.” Keith made moves to get up.

 

“Nononono, I want you here.” Lance pulled Keith back. “I’m really glad that you came.”

 

“Yeah. I am too,” Keith smiled softly. “But I just can’t shake the feeling that something is up, like you’re not telling me everything.” He looked at Lance with a curious expression.

 

“I will. Probably. Eventually. But for now can we just sit?”

 

Keith thought that was a little strange. But he didn’t ask. He felt like Lance had probably had enough questions for a while.

 

“It’s getting really really late. If you want to go home, you can. It was super unfair of me to ask you to come here.” Lance moved away from Keith he stared into his eyes as if searching for something.

 

“Well it’s too late for me to go home. So I guess… I’ll just have to stay here.” He said, his tone mildly suggestive. Or maybe Lance was just imagining it. He did do that eyebrow mildly flirty eyebrow raise.

 

“Yep, yeah, I guess so. Darn,” Lance's voice wavered embarrassingly, “Do you want me to sleep on the floor? Or like? What?”

 

“No. No, don’t worry about it. I can.”

 

“Well neither of us could sleep on the floor, if you want.” Keith gave Lance a sly smile.

 

“What? Uh,” Lance stammered. 

 

“Oh, jeez, I didn’t mean, I’m sorry I imposed. That’s not what I meant. I just-”

 

“-Hey, don’t sweat it. I mean, I don’t have any extra blankets and I really do not want to leave my room ‘cause the floors creak and it would wake everyone else up. And I don’t know, I could still sleep on the floor it’s not that big of a deal. We don’t-”

 

“-Just don't worry about it,” Keith repeated the phrase with an amused smile. “It’s not a big deal if you don’t make it one.” 

 

“Yeah,” Lance started to relax, “Yeah you’re right.”

 

“I mean it’s not the first time we’d’ve slept in the same bed.” Keith said as he laid on the bed and let his legs hang off the side.

 

Lance whipped his head around, “What?” He whisper-yelled.

 

Keith’s face formed the epitome of “fuck”. “Heh heh… Well you know that one time you got super drunk and had to stay at my place?”

 

“Yes.” 

 

“And I said I slept on the couch.”

 

“You didn’t sleep on the couch.”

 

“No…”

 

“You slept in bed with me.”

 

“Yes…”

 

Lance inhaled sharply, “BOI.”

 

Keith started to snort-laugh, trying to stay quiet, “That meme is so stale.”

 

“I am a walking stale meme. And a very angry one. I barely had anything on!”

 

“You had boxers.”

 

“Wow, thanks.”

 

“And socks.”

 

“What an improvement.”

 

“Well you obviously aren’t telling me everything about when  _ I _ was in  _ your _ shoes.”

 

“I’ve told you basically everything.”

 

“Basically.” Keith mocked.

 

“What, you want to know more?” Lance inquired jovially.

 

“ _ Yes _ .”

 

“You’re a great kisser.”

 

Keith was shocked. That was a thing. That Lance just said to him. Lance just casually brought up the fact that they’d kissed. Also that he  _ enjoyed  _ it.

 

Obviously the only course of action was throw a pillow at him. So he did.

 

“Hey! That was a compliment!” Lance griped as he picked up the pillow from the floor.

 

Keith stood up and grabbed the pillow, “Now I might accuse that you, sir, are flirting with me. And after you just broke up with Lotor.” 

 

Lance made a face. “Technically we haven’t broken up yet.”

 

“What? Why not?”

 

“Well I didn’t find out until really late, so I texted him that I want to meet up tomorrow.”

 

“La-aance,” Keith whined, “You’re going to fall for his charms. He’s very charming, have you heard his accent?”

 

“No. I’m going to hold firm. And his girlfriends are going to back me up.”

 

“Oof, That’ll be a rough day for him. I wish I’d be there to see it.”

 

“I should sell tickets.”

 

Keith put on a 1940’s radio announcer voice, “Step-riiight up, folks, watch the mayor’s son get himself ripped a new one. Only fiiiiive dollars, that’s right, five dollars.”

 

“We’d have the whole town in our pockets.”

 

“That’d be enough to get out of here,” Keith said dreamily.

 

Lance sat back down on the bed, “You want to leave?”

 

“Yeah. Of course I do. Don’t you?”

 

“I’ve thought about it. But I’ve got things keeping me here, you know?”

 

Keith gave a rueful chuckle. “Lucky.” He sat down next to Lance.

 

“I’d leave if I could.”

 

“Where would you go?”

 

“I don’t know, California, maybe? I wanna act. Or maybe New York City. I love cities. And that’d be a good place to get a gig too.” He laid down on the bed and let his legs hang off the edge. Keith followed suit.

 

“But you’re probably not leaving.”

 

“Not probably, definitely. I can’t leave, Keith, I’ve got to help my family.”

 

“What about your sisters? Aren’t they leaving?”

 

“Yeah, but I’m different.”

 

"How?"

 

“My parents already put my name down in their will for the farm and the house. My sisters didn’t want it. We’ve had this place for generations. I can’t just give it up.”

 

“Yeah. That sucks.”

 

“You’re telling me.”

 

They were quiet for a bit.

 

“Hey I was wondering something.” Keith said.

 

“Hmm?”

 

“So talking about that one time you got drunk got me thinking about it again.”

 

Lance rolled to his side and propped himself up on his elbow, “What?”

 

“You never puked. That whole time. You were wasted and you didn’t barf.”

 

“I don’t really have that much of a gag reflex. It kinda sucks because it makes my hangovers last forever.”

 

“No gag reflex huh?”

 

“Yep.”

 

Keith smirked. “Bet that was nice for Lotor.”

 

“Oh my God, I’m going to smother you.” He picked up a pillow and held it over Keith threateningly.

 

“Do it, you won’t.”

 

He dropped the pillow, “You’re right, I’m a coward, truly, I am. Also I’d have no way to hide the body.”

 

“Good point.”

 

“Hey Keith?”

 

“What’s up?”

 

“Why’d you come over here?” Lance turned his head and he locked eyes with Keith.

 

“You called?”

 

“Yeah but I’ve been an asshole to you for months. I barely talk to you and that wasn’t fair. Why’d you even answer the phone?”

 

“Lance. I was angry, obviously. But Pidge told me to answer. It just so happened that it was this one. She said you’d been pestering her about me.”

 

“Guilty as charged. But still, why’d you come.”

 

“Like I said, I was angry. But you’re still important to me. But you sounded so upset and desperate. You needed someone and you picked me to call. I’ve already lost someone before and I couldn’t help. I wasn’t going to pass up the chance to help you.”

 

Lance didn’t know what to say.

 

“Sorry, that got really heavy. Do you want to go to bed? It’s late,” Keith said.

 

“Oh, yeah, it is. Uh, sure. Do you need some pajamas or something?”

 

Keith realized that he was still wearing his day clothes. “Uh, yeah, if you have something to spare.”

 

“Yeah, no prob.” He stood up and started rummaging through his dresser he tossed out an oversized tee-shirt and some plaid pajama pants.

 

Keith grabbed them off the bed. Lance turned around as he changed.

 

“Done.”

 

Lance turned around to see Keith doing little jazz hands. He said in a monotone voice, “Ta-da!~”

 

There’s something about seeing your crush in your clothes that’s just a hit to your soul. It makes your heart beat a little faster. Well Lance’s heart pretty much stopped. The clothes he’d given Keith were already a smidge big on Lance, so they bagged on Keith. It wasn’t entirely that, but the shirt Lance’d randomly grabbed was from a McClain family reunion, it had his name printed in huge letters on the back. The pants were basic plaid flannel, but few could make flannel pants look as good as Keith did, or so Lance thought.

 

“Nice choice on shirt,” Keith said, in the same monotone voice as before. He was very sarcastic that way.

 

Lance blushed a little, “Sorry, that was the first one I found. Do you want a different one?”

 

“Nah. It’s cool.” He flopped back down on the bed with a soft  **_fwump_ ** .

 

Lance sat down too. “Scooch.” 

 

“Do you want the wall side, or the open side?”

 

“Wall side’s cold. You take it.”

 

Keith rolled his eyes. “So generous. So hospitable. How will I ever repay you?”

 

“You can start by going to bed. We have work tomorrow.”

 

“Yeah, yeah.” Keith crawled into the bed and under the covers. 

 

Lance flicked off the light by the doorway. Keith felt his weight press down on the bed next to him and the shift of fabric against fabric of him getting under the covers.

 

“Boi,” Lance whispered, “I said scooch.”

 

“There’s no more room.”

 

Lance grumbled something under his breath.

 

“Fiiiiine.” Keith scooted over. He was a natural side sleeper and now his back was cold. He scooted over just a little. His hand brushed against Lance’s back.

 

Lance rolled over and squinted at Keith through the darkness. “You cold?”

 

“A lil, yeah.”

 

“Do you want me to get another blanket?”

 

“No, no. It’s fine. I’m just a cold person. Like, all the time.”

 

“I’m just naturally warm. And you’re on the cold wall. You can scooch a little closer to me. If you want, I mean.”

 

He did want. He did want really bad. “‘Kay,” he mumbled.

 

Keith scooched millimeters towards Lance.

 

“That was literally nothing.” Lance said with a lick of humor in his voice.

 

Keith scooched closer again. He could smell Lance’s soap. He’d taken a shower earlier that night. Keith smiled. It was a lot warmer near Lance. But that might’ve just been the blood rushing to his cheeks.

 

Lance casually draped his arm over Keith, as if this was the most natural thing ever. It sure did feel that way. 

 

Keith adjusted a little closer to Lance. Lance pulled him closer too. They fell asleep in each others’ arms.

 

They were content there, as a pair. Now-forgotten tears dried on Lance’s cheeks and something inside Keith fluttered and came back to life. 

 

Truly, it was a nice night. The best that either had in the recent past. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Fact: I actually kinda don't feel great about this chapter, I feel like Lance isn't sad enough. I'll chalk it up to him kinda seeing it coming.  
> Fun Fact: Lance just really wanted to apologize, and he's afraid Keith fully hates him.  
> Fun Fact: Road safety is important, kids. Don't phone call and motorcycle. And don't speed. Just don't do anything Keith does in this chapter.  
> Fun Fact: Lance had also been whining to Hunk, but Hunk didn't want to get involved.  
> Fun Fact: This is all going according to plan. Ehehehehe  
> Fun Fact: Lance usually sleeps on the wall side.  
> Fun Fact: Who doesn't love some classic bed-sharing shenanigans.


	32. In Which There's Some Spanish That I Don't Even Know How To Read

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> OKAY HUGE THANKS TO @fabilousfabi on tumblr. This beautiful lady translated the part for me. I was expecting to have to wait a long time for this but within an hour of me uploading a post asking for help she just rolled up like, "Here's some Spanish, have fun." So yeah, she's super coolio.
> 
> Thanks for reading and waiting!!

Light flitted in through the curtains. Birds chirped outside. Cleo McClain clumped up the stairs in her raggedy bunny slippers. She’d been up for three hours already. It was eight thirty now, the latest she remembered Lance staying in bed in… ever. 

 

She tromped into his room with the zero respect for personal space that she had. “Hey Lance-y Lance, your mama made pan-”

 

And the words died in her throat. It wasn’t just Lance in the room. 

 

“Oh she’s gonna be  _ so _ mad.” She gasped.

 

Keith, who was still more-or-less asleep half opened his eyes, “What’s going on?” he asked in a sleepy voice.

 

“Don’t worry about it. Don’t worry about it.” Lance replied. He shot Cleo a look.

 

Lance was sitting with his back leaning against pillows, Keith’s arm still draped over his torso. He set the book he’s been reading on the nightstand.

 

“Que está el asciendo aquí? Saves que mama estará muy enojada,” she said incredulously. (What is he doing in here? You know that mama’s going to get super mad.) 

 

“Si, si, lo sé, pero si necesitaba alguien con quien hablar la noche pasada.” (Yeah, yeah, I know, but I really needed someone to talk to last night.)

 

“Se mira que hicieron algo más que hablar.” (It  _ looks _ like you did more than just talk.)

 

“Bueno no hicimos nada. No eres muy chica para decir cosas como esas?” (Well we didn’t. Aren’t you too young to be making comments like that?)

 

“Y tu no eres muy chico para estar durmiendo con personas!” (And you’re too young to be sleeping around!)

 

“Cleo.” he said in a calming way.

 

“Como quieras. Le voy a decir a mami que haga más panqueques.” (Whatever. I’m going to tell mom to go make more pancakes.)

 

“No creo que se los va a poder comer” (I don’t think that he’ll be able to eat them.)

 

“Está usando las cosas veganas que Amelia dejó.” (She’s using the vegan stuff Amelia left.)

 

“El lo puede comer.” (He can eat them.)

 

“No crees tal ves lo deberías echar??” (Don't you think you should kick him out???)

 

“Eso sería grosero. Además no sé si la escalera todavía está allí.” (That’d be rude. Also I don’t know if the ladder is still up.)

 

“Lo trajiste aquí con una ESCALERA?” (You got him in here with a LADDER?)

 

Keith grumbled and rolled over.

 

“Bájale a tu volumen.” Lance said quickly. (Keep it down.)

 

Cleo walked to the window.“Se cayó.” (It fell.)

 

“Carajo.” (Shit.)

 

“Pero lo trajiste por la ventana? En realidad?” (But you got him in through the window? Seriously?)

 

“Si...” he said guiltily. (Yes...)

 

“Vas a perder tus privilegies de llaves.” (You're going to lose your key privileges.)

 

“Lo sé.” (I know.)

 

Keith rolled back over and squinted one eye at Lance. “I don’t know what you’re saying but I get the feeling that you’re talking about me and I don’t like it.”

 

Cleo and Lance both gave him the most awkward look ever, as they’d been pegged doing exactly that.

 

“Do you like syrup on your pancakes?” Cleo asked with a forced smile.

 

* * *

 

She left a few minutes later.

 

Keith still hadn’t bothered to move yet. He looked up at Lance. “So what were you talking about?”

 

Lance didn’t look up from his book. “Stuff.”

 

Keith pouted a little. The soft morning light that shined in through the window caressed Lance’s jawline. Keith noted every little thing about Lance. From the way his hair was mused from having not brushed it yet, to the way his brow furrowed just slightly as his eyes scanned the pages.

 

**Truly, he’s the prettiest boy in the world.**

 

**WOAH WOAH WOAH. Wait up. Where did that come from?**

 

**News flash: You’re still gay for Lance.**

 

**Fuuuuuuuuck**

 

**You know what? No. I’m not gonna be miserable. I’m going to enjoy the feelings that I have.**

 

He smiled at Lance with new resolve. Yeah, he was just going to let things roll. 

 

Lance’s stomach grumbled. “I guess we should get up now, huh?”

 

Keith sighed, knowing Lance was right, but that didn’t make him want to get up any more.

 

“A few more minutes?”

 

“Out!” Lance declared as he got up and floofed the blankets out until Keith groaned for as long as humanly possible and finally got out of bed. 

 

Keith stood and looked at Lance indignantly, “There, I’m out. Happy.”

 

Lance looked him up and down and made a face like he was trying to hold in a laugh. “Very.”

 

Keith’s face reddened and he looked away, remembering the shirt labeled “McClain” in big, brazen letters. “Where’s the bathroom? I need to change.”

 

“Down the hall, to the left. But it’s kinda been taken over by Cleo and Gwen. You could just change in here. I won’t look.”

 

Lance turned around and Keith changed. He picked up the shirt that he’d worn yesterday. “Crud.”

 

“What’s wrong?”

 

“I’ve got… some kind of schmutz on my shirt. I can’t wear this.”

 

“You can borrow the shirt you slept in,” Lance said nonchalantly.

 

“It’s got your name plastered all over it!”

 

“Wear your jacket over it. It’s no big deal.”

 

Keith threw his jacket on and they headed downstairs.

 

* * *

 

Keith sat awkwardly at the bustling table. The kids grabbed at pancakes and fruit. They fought over who got the syrup first and what cartoon was the best. Keith sat and watched the chaos, his eyes flicking around the table, not knowing where to focus. He looked at one of the adults at the table (Arthur?), who was falling asleep in his pancakes. The woman next to him, who he recognized as Lance’s older sister, Gwen was struggling to get two kids to eat their food and not each others’. She also appeared to be pregnant. A middle-aged woman Keith’d never seen watched this with tired eyes, debating whether or not to intervene. She didn’t and instead continued to sip her coffee. He got the feeling that Pidge would like her. Cleo was chattering away at an middle-aged man who looked startlingly like an older Lance. Keith assumed that was Lance’s father, Bruno, was it? Either way the man kept glancing at him as if he’d somehow forgotten about having another child, and one that looked nothing like any of the rest of the family. And Lance’s mother was running in and out of the kitchen, serving an endless stream of steaming hot pancakes. Keith wondered how she ever managed to keep up with this and eat her own food.

 

He sat, taking this all in. Despite the noise and craze, he felt comfortable here. Something about this warm, noisy mess of a family felt more homey than his actual house.

 

Lance set down a fold-out chair next to him and squeezed between Keith and Cleo. He looked at Keith’s still untouched food. “Do you not like it?”

 

Keith snapped out of his stupor, “What? No. I was just taking all this in. Not used to all the… this.” He gestured vaguely to the general area of the table, “I usually eat breakfast on my own.”

 

Lance half-laughed, “I don’t think I’ve eaten alone in this house in my life.”

 

Keith started to eat. He kept getting the feeling that someone was watching him. That someone, he discovered, was Mr.McClain, who’s gaze had turned from mild confusion to the ‘I must protect my son from this threat to his innocence’ look  ™  . Of course, this thought was futile due to a one Lotor Duem. 

 

Breakfast was over, Lance and Cleo cleared off the table. Lance checked his watch and said to Keith, “We’d better head out.”

 

In a flash, Mrs.McClain was out of the kitchen, hand pinching Lance’s ear. “Not so fast, mister.”

 

“Ah! Okay, okay, okay, Mama!” He gave Keith a semi-pained look. “Go on without me,” he said, mimicking a hero facing his doom in a valiant example of self-sacrifice.

 

“Okay,” Keith replied flatly.

 

**No you’re not supposed to actually goooo…..** Lance thought as his mother dragged him away to face the music.

 

“Mama I’m sorry. I-”

 

She gave him a look that made his apologies dry up in his throat. 

 

“I’m disappointed, Lance. Your father and I trusted you and you betrayed that.”

 

The guilt building up inside Lance was too great for him to say anything.

 

“And sneaking in a  _ boy _ no less. Did you really not think that your father and I had caught on? Did you believe so much that we wouldn’t accept this relationship that you had to  _ sneak _ him in?!”

 

“Wait-wah?” He stumbled, confusedly.

 

“Do you think your father and I are so unaware? The girls were just a cover this whole time? I should’ve known. I always did think it was a little strange how that boy looked at you. Especially during the wedding. How stupid do you think we are?”

 

“Mama, what are you talking about?”

 

“Your boyfriend. The one that  _ just _ left,” She said with annoyance.

 

“Keith isn’t- he isn’t my boyfriend, Mama!” Lance exclaimed.

 

“You’ve moved on to sleeping with men now too?!”

 

“Mama!”

 

“Well it’s not a lie, Lance, you’ve slept with half of the girls in your school.”

 

“But you’re my  _ mom _ you aren’t supposed to talk about that stuff!”

 

“You think I don’t know about sex? Do you also question your existence? You were not given to us by a crane.”

 

“MAMA.”

 

She chuckled, oh how fast her moods changed. She suddenly became very serious. “I’m worried about you though. This isn’t a normal thing.”

 

“It’s a lot more normal than you’d think.”

 

“Why do you do this? What are you hoping to gain? An STD?”

 

He gave her a scalding look.

 

“At this rate you’re bound to get one.”

 

He rolled his eyes.

 

“But Lance, this isn’t good. Why are you doing this?”

 

“I don’t know, I enjoy it?”

 

Neither he nor his mother was convinced.

 

“Oh gosh you haven’t gotten anyone knocked up have you?”

 

“No!”

 

“It’s not out of the question!”

 

“Mama, I haven’t.”

 

“You also haven’t settled with any of these girls. Or… boy.” 

 

“I just don’t feel a connection with them.” 

 

“You’ve been sleeping with them!”

 

Lance shrugged. “That’s the easy part.”

 

She gave him a mortified look. 

 

“Sorry…” he said meekly.

 

“When I was your age I was already dating your father.”

 

“You met in college!”

 

She sighed. “Oh the good days. Life was so easy back then.”

 

Lance tensed, “Mama, I’m sorry. But I have to go to work. What’s my punishment.”

 

“As much as I’d like to keep you from seeing that boy-”

 

“-Keith-”

 

“- it’s quite obvious I can’t. So, you’ll be leaving your keys and cellphone down here, on the counter every night from now on. And the lawn really should be mown one last time before winter sets in. And after it does I trust that you’ll also be shoveling the drive?”

 

It obviously wasn’t a question. “Yes, Mama.” He started to turn.

 

“Lance one more thing.”

 

He braced himself for another layer of repercussions. “Yes, Mama?”

 

“I think that you need to get your feelings sorted out about him. I think it’d be the best for the both of you.”

 

Lance blushed, “Mama!”

 

“I know about love too, Lance. I’ve seen it enough times. And I’d say that he’s smitten.”

 

“I don’t think so…”

 

“Now get your face down here, don’t think you’re going off to work without a goodbye kiss.”

 

“Aww Mamaaa..” he groaned, bending down to receive a little peck on the cheek.

 

“Love you, mi gordito.”

 

“Maaaamaaaaaaa,” he whined.

 

“You’ll never grow out of that.” She pinched his cheek.

 

“Love you too, Mama,” he said with a teenage sincerity that can only be conveyed by a roll of the eyes and a tolerating smirk. 

 

He left the house and noticed that Keith was already gone.  **Oof. Well I’ll see him in a few.**

 

He then drove to the library for work, a boring day ahead of him.

 

* * *

 

While Lance was having a precious heart-to-heart with his mom, Keith was outside, getting his bike ready.

 

“Nice bike. Where’d you get it?” A gruff voice said out of nowhere. 

 

He turned to see Lance’s dad, who was craptastically intimidating. “Uhhh… It was my dad’s.”

 

Lance’s dad took a step forward his eyes were fixed on the motorcycle, but he continued to address Keith. “It’s in great condition.”

 

“Thanks I’ve worked really hard on it.”

 

“MmHmm…” Mr.McClain grumbled.

 

His arms were crossed and his posture closed off as he examined the motorcycle with a cold eye. Keith felt as if he were being judged just as harshly. 

 

Keith yawned rather loudly all of a sudden. Mr.McClain looked up and raised an eyebrow, “Not sleep well last night?”

 

“Uh, no, I was up late. I’m kinda tired.”

 

Mr.McClain’s closed off disposition melted away into joy. He grinned.

 

**What have I done.** Keith wondered with horror.

 

“Hi Kinda Tired.” Lance’s dad looked like he was about to explode from laughter.

 

**Oh no.**

 

**Not a dad joke.**

 

“I’m Dad!” Mr.McClain could barely get the words out through his hearty chortles. 

 

Keith started to chuckle a little too.

 

Once Mr.McClain had calmed a bit he wheezed out, “I can never get my kids to fall for that anymore!”

 

“Yep,” Keith said stiffly.

 

Mr.McClain clapped Keith on the back so hard that Keith almost fell over. “I like you, kid! You’ve got a good ride and I got a good laugh outta that!”

 

“Th-thanks, sir.”

 

The air became deadly serious, Mr.McClain looked Keith straight in the eye. “But don’t ever hurt my son. He’s the light of my life and it’d do you well to remember that.”

 

“Uh, sir, I think you’ve got it wrong, uh, we aren’t dating or anything, we’re-”

 

His jovial attitude was back, “Well! I’ve got some dishes to wash. Happy trails, kiddo!” He patted Keith on the shoulder and went back inside.

 

Keith, unsure of how to react in this situation, got on his motorcycle and left for the library.

 

* * *

 

Keith was already at the counter when Lance showed up. 

 

“Hey.” He said.

 

“Does Shiro know I’m late?” Lance asked.

 

“No, actually, he’s not here yet.”

 

“Wait, seriously? That’s new.” Lance walked around the counter and tossed his jacket and phone in the break room.

 

They leaned on the counter, ready for another boring day. 

 

The door flung open and Shiro burst in, his breath heavy and his hair poofing in all directions. He was holding a travel mug and still wearing his glasses. It was quite apparent that he’d left in a hurry. “Sorry I’m late, I was doing things last night.”

 

Lance looked over at Keith and made a face. Keith leaned over and whispered, “Cue Allura bursting in and saying she’s things.”

 

Lance snorted. Shiro scurried off downstairs. Allura did not burst in. No one did.

 

Around ten, after they’d already trolled the shelves for out of place books and swept the floor of the lobby, Lance got a text.

 

“Seriously?” He said in disbelief.

 

“What’s up?” Keith asked, leaning around to look, his arms full of books some disgruntled soccer mom had just dropped off. 

 

“Lotor just fucking texted me that ‘He can’t make it to the cafe.’ and ‘He’s so sorry’.” He rolled his eyes. “Bullshit,” he mumbled under his breath.

 

“Is he on to you?” Keith asked as he adjusted the books to be under his arm.

 

“I think he knows something’s up. But he’s gonna face it. I’m telling him to swing by the library.”

 

“Do you want me there or nah?”

 

Lance sat on the question for a second.

 

“Maybe don’t stand right next to me, but I’d like it if you were nearby.” His phone pinged. “That’s him,” he grumbled. “He’ll be here in five.”

 

“Moment of truth. You ready for this?” Keith asked, half concerned, half joking, trying to lighten the mood but not really knowing how.

 

“Nope. I am not ready for this  _ in _ the slightest.”

 

“You can do it. Remember, I’m here for you. Well, I’ll be in the other room for you.”

 

Lance gave him an uneasy smile. A dark pit of guilt and worry had started to amass in his stomach. 

 

**Lotor was in the wrong here! You aren’t!**

 

**Yeah but still, what if he actually loved me?**

 

**He cheated on you. Fucking fucked a fuck ton of other people. He obviously didn’t care about you or them.**

 

**That’s depressing.**

 

**That’s life, bucko.**

 

Lance sighed as he watched the seconds tick by on his watch. Keith wandered into the breakroom, pretending to not be diligently watching everything.

 

The door opened and closed, the small tinkle of the bell fluttered through the air. A cold breeze flew in for the brief moment the door was open. 

 

Lotor had arrived.

 

He walked up to the counter with an air of arrogant impatience. “What’s going on?”

 

Lance raised an eyebrow, forcing himself to seem chill and composed. The exact opposite of how he felt. “Some place to go?”

 

“ _ Obviously _ .”

 

Lance smiled like he had everything under control. He began inspecting his nails. “In a rush? You need to be somewhere?” He locked eyes with Lotor. “Someone to see?”

 

Lotor’s eyes narrowed. “What are you talking about.”

 

“Well, you see, I met some ladies on Facebook, like you do. And these ladies ya see, they seem to know you?”

 

“Lance… I can explain,” Lotor said, unable to explain.

 

“Explain what? How long this has been going on? How many girls and guys that you’ve hooked up with at the same time?”

 

“Oh like you’re any better.”

 

“Wh-what?!”

 

“It’s a small town, Lance. Don’t you think I’ve heard about your reputation?”

 

“I wasn’t  _ dating _ them! They knew that it was a one-time thing.  _ This _ wasn’t a one-time thing!” Lance practically yelled. He emphasised each word with a sharpness that covered the hurt with anger.

 

“It should have been!”

 

“It shouldn’t have even happened,” Lance said coldly.

 

“Took you long enough to realize that. I wanted to let you come to that conclusion.”

 

“You just wanted to get away with this for as long as you could! And you’ve done this so many times, with so many girls.”

 

Lotor took a step forward.

 

“Did you even think how much this would hurt them? Me? Obviously not. You don’t think about anyone but yourself."

 

Lotor took another step closer. He was right in front of the counter. He still didn’t say anything. He, for once in his life, seemed to not know what to say.

 

“Did you think about Axca or Zethrid or Ezor?”

 

Lotor tensed at the names.

 

“Did you think about Narti?”

 

The second the name was out of his mouth, he immediately felt regretful. He also felt the sharp slap of Lotor’s open palm against his cheek.

 

Lance stood slack-jawed, his fingers slowly reached up to his face as they grazed the place where Lotor hit him. 

 

Lotor’s face was contorted with fury. “Don’t  _ ever _ say her name,” he growled.

 

Keith burst out of the breakroom. He forced himself between Lance and Lotor and grabbed the collar of Lotor’s shirt, nearly tearing the expensive fabric. He held his fist up poised to hit him.

 

Until he felt a reassuring hand on his shoulder. He looked over to Lance, who already had a red mark forming on his face. “Keith, don’t punch a guy on my behalf. You’re old enough to be charged for assault as an adult.”

 

Keith grumbled and slowly let go of Lotor’s shirt. Lotor stood up and brushed himself off as if nothing had happened. He stepped out of Keith’s reach and collected himself again. 

 

“Looks like I wasn’t the only one seeing other people,” Lotor said snidely.

 

Lance rolled his eyes.

 

Lotor turned to leave and took a few steps away. Then, once out of reasonable leaping distance, he turned and casually said over his shoulder, “And it’s a shame you calmed him down too, he’s cute when he’s angry.” Lotor stopped walking. “Although, he’s always been cute. Even back a few years ago. Right Keith?”

 

Keith didn’t say anything.

 

Lotor turned back toward the door and left. 

 

The two boys were silent for a few minutes.

 

“I thought- I thought he forgot.” Keith’s shaking voice cut through the tension in the air.

 

Lance turned and looked at him. “Forgot what?”

 

“You know that mysterious party guy that I slept with that one time?”

 

“Yeah…?”

 

“That was him.”

 

“What?!”

 

“I thought he forgot, because I wasn’t that important to him.”

 

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

 

“I was just so hurt and I felt so awful and I knew what he was like but you made me feel so bad and i wanted you to feel the same way and I just let it happen. I said a little something but you just blew me off and I just wanted you to feel the same way I did and I’m sorry. I’m sorry this is my fault an-”

 

“-Keith. It’s not your fault. You  _ tried _ to warn me. And I didn’t listen. You’re not the one at fault here. I should have seen it-”

 

“-It  _ was  _ my fault. I could’ve warned you again.”

 

Lance rested his hand on Keith’s shoulder tenderly. “It’s fine. I don’t blame you for anything. And what’s done is done, okay?”

 

Keith sighed heavily. He smiled, “Okay.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Fact: Lance woke up at 6, but he thought Keith deserved the rest.  
> Fun Fact: He was reading The Great Gatsby, his book for English class.  
> Fun Fact: Keith sleeps in until about noon if he doesn't set an alarm.  
> Fun Fact: Keith is very very bad at determining age. He guessed Cleo to be about ten. She's thirteen.  
> Fun Fact: He's also started to forget who everyone is.  
> Fun Fact: Duem (Pronounced Doom. Named after the planet that Zarkon and Lotor were from in the 80's version.)  
> Fun Fact: Mama McClain didn't go to college when she was Lance's age, she just idolizes her husband so much that she can't imagine dating anyone else.  
> Fun Fact: Lance was a very chubby child.  
> Fun Fact: By things he meant that he was up really late finishing a twenty-six page paper for his degree.  
> Fun Fact: Don't trust a romantically-cynical pessimistic teen-aged girl to write a happy fluff fic.  
> Fun Fact: Narti's dead.  
> Fun Fact: I have never read The Fault In Our Stars, I just didn't know how to end the chapter.


	33. In Which The B Plot Momentarily Becomes The A Plot.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pidge chapter. Why do I do this to her? ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I literally just finished writing this chapter. I need to get my schist together, my dudes. Love y'all.   
> Also I'm getting in 35mm. It's a great musical. It's kinda fucked up tho, y'all should hear it.  
> Don't worry, it'll return to your regularly scheduled gay fanfic momentarily.

A week passed with no more Lotor. Lance went through the ups and downs of a messy break up. Keith and Hunk were there, of course, to support him through all of it.

 

With swim season over, Lance had more time to work at the library. 

 

And as the end of November neared, snow came in, the first of many snowfalls that winter would bring.

 

As per usual, Lance and Keith were behind the counter, with nothing to do. They watched the snowflakes gracefully float down from the sky. It was a peaceful day in the library.

 

Pidge poked her head out of her room, “Jesus it’s freezing out here. Hunk still hasn’t fixed the heater?”

 

“At this point I think he’d just need to completely rebuild the damn thing,” Lance said lazily.

 

Pidge scoffed. “I’m sick of it being so cold, he needs to get on with that. But in the meantime, do either of you dipshits want coffee?”

 

“Do you have creamer?” Lance asked.

 

“No, creamer’s for bitches. Keith?” her tone was lazy, as if she were half-asleep-half-asshole.

 

“What? Sure,” Keith added, completely unaware of what he’d just agreed to.

 

“Cream or sugar?” She asked with a sigh.

 

“No thanks.”

 

“Wait, he gets creamer? What the heck, Pidge?”

 

“I like him better,” she said, with disregard for anyone’s feelings.

 

Keith, who was now fully invested in the conversation, added, “Hah! She likes me better.”

 

Lance made a very offended noise. “I’ve known you way longer than he has!”

 

Pidge shrugged, “He’s cooler.”

 

“Did you hear that Lance? I’m cool with the kidz!” Keith joked.

 

“I take that back.”

 

Keith made a “whatever” sort of face.

 

“So, cream? Sugar? What?”

 

“No thanks.”

 

“‘Kay,” Pidge said. She popped her head back into her cave. 

 

Lance sighed annoyedly.

 

Keith didn’t notice.

 

Lance sighed a little louder.

 

Keith relented and turned around, “What, what?”

 

“Help me with my math homework?”

 

Keith rolled his eyes, “You and I both know that you can do it on your own.”

 

“But I don’t waaaant to.”

 

“Oh boo hoo, Lancey-Lance doesn’t want to…” Keith looked at the paper, “What even is this?”

 

“I wouldn’t be asking for your help if I knew.”

 

“Fine. I’ll help.”

 

“Yes!”

 

“But I’m not doing it for you.”

 

“Yeah yeah. Whatever.” 

 

They hunched over the textbook and read the lesson over again.

 

“How do you even do this?” Lance asked.

 

“Well I think you need to…” Keith explained the lesson over again to Lance, who fully understood exactly what Keith was saying, but how perfectly trope-filled was this moment or what?

 

Pidge strolled out of her office, two coffee mugs in hand. She plopped them down next to the two boys. She didn’t remember whose was whose, so she just put them both in the middle.

 

Keith mumbled a thank you, not looking up. Lance flicked his eyes up at Pidge, “I thought you weren’t making me any?”

 

“Well I did, drink it,” she said curtly. She turned and left without another word. Her movements were slightly sluggish. There was a hunch in her shoulders, well, more pronounced than there usually was.

 

“Does Pidge seem… off to you?” Lance asked.

 

“She seems like her normal grumpy self. Why?”

 

“Something just seems weird. Did you look at her? She looks like a raccoon.”

 

“It’s probably stress. She takes on a lot. Especially for a kid her age.”

 

“I’m worried about her.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

Lance turned to his work and absent-mindedly took a sip of his coffee, “Gack,” he complained. “This is yours,” he said, and pushed the cup toward Keith. He grabbed the other and took a sip. The coffee wasn’t as sweet as he liked, but it was something.

 

* * *

 

Lance sighed heavily. He was done with his math homework and now he needed to print something out for english. But of course, the computer wasn’t working. He smacked it a few times. 

 

He sighed again and stood. He turned and rapped his fist on Pidge’s office door. “Piii-iiidge, my computer’s not working.”

 

No answer.   
  


“Piiiiiiiiidge,” he whined.

 

There was an annoyed sigh from the other side of the door, then some stomps before Pidge yanked the door open. “ **_What_ ** ,” she said irritably.

 

Lance recoiled at her rude behavior. “My computer’s not working.”

 

“And?”

 

“You’re IT, fix it.”

 

“I’m not your  _ slave _ , Lance. Do it yourself. I’m busy.”

 

She slammed the door.

 

Lance flipped the door off then went to fiddle on the computer which he had no idea how to fix.

 

* * *

  
Hours later, everyone started to grab their coats and leave. Keith was mid-conversation with Lance when he stopped in his tracks. “Hey, has Pidge left yet?”

 

“I think, yeah. She left at one point, probably.”

 

“I’m just going to check real quick. Don’t wait up.”

 

“Okay? See you later, I guess.” Lance turned and left while Keith walked back behind the counter and knocked on the door to Pidge’s office. 

 

“Pidgeon? You in there?”

 

No response.

 

**Okaaay, that’s unsettling.**

 

He opened the door, it was strangely, unlocked. He stepped inside.

 

“Oh my God, Katie.”

 

Keith rushed over to the girl, lying on the floor next to her over-turned office chair, unmoving.

 

“Katie, Katie, Oh my God, be okay, be okay.” He scrabbled around and checked her pulse with shaking hands. It was slow, but it was going.

 

**What do I do what do I do.**

 

**Shiro, he’ll know what to do.**

 

He ran outside, past Lance, waving his arms and yelling for Shiro.    
  


“Keith, what’s wrong?”

 

“Pidge was passed out on the floor in her office and she isn’t waking up and-”

 

Shiro immediately looked terrified. He ran past Keith, not even letting him finish his sentence.

 

Keith, Lance and Hunk followed him in. They clustered around the door. Shiro checked her pulse and breathing, which were stable. He lifted her up like a father would cradle their child. “Can one of you actually do something and go open the door to the break room?”

 

Hunk swung the break room door open and Shiro set Pidge down on the old couch in the room. Keith couldn’t bear to see her unconscious so he took the time to snoop around her room. The garbage can was over-flowing with k-cups and protein bar wrappers.

 

**How long has she been here?**

 

Her computer was already locked from inactivity. There was a coffee mug on its side. The coffee that was in there had already spilled onto the ground, staining the very old carpeting that had been under her desk. Keith felt the coffee. It was ice cold. 

 

**How long has she been out?**

 

He wandered back into the break room. Shiro seemed pretty annoyed with whoever he was on the phone with. Hunk was doting over Pidge, fretting with if she needed an ice pack or a blanket and holding her glasses. Lance hovered nearby, looking on worriedly. Pidge was still asleep, but seemed slightly more okay.

 

Shiro sighed angrily and hung up. “That was Katie’s mother. Apparently, she’s been in Seattle on business for the past three weeks and Katie was supposed to be staying with their neighbor, Mrs.Taylor-Klaus. Who’s been saying that she was staying there.”

 

Shiro sighed and rubbed his temples. “Well it’s pretty damn obvious that she wasn’t!”

 

There was a slight gasp at the swear. Shiro never swore.

 

Pidge groaned from the couch, drawing everyone’s attention. She kind of flopped her arm a little. 

 

Shiro knelt down by her side and brushed her bangs away from her face. Pidge’s eyes started to flutter a little. Her eyebrows furrowed. She squinted at Shiro and whispered something.

 

“What? What did you say?” he asked.

 

They all leaned in.

 

And she whispered, so softly that it was barely audible, “Why the fuck are you in my house?”

 

“She’s awake!” Shiro declared to the group. “Pidge, do you remember where you are?”

 

She squinted more, “The library?”

 

“Yeah,” he turned to Hunk, “Can you get her a cup of water?” he turned back to Pidge, “Do you know what the date is?

 

“Like, November 25th, yeah?”

 

“Yes, you’re right.”

 

“Are you done with the quiz now?” she asked in an irritated manner.

 

“Not quite. Why haven’t you been sleeping?”

 

“What? Yes I have.”

 

“Pidge.”

 

“I’ve been… busy.”

 

“Do you know how serious this is? And you haven’t been staying with Mrs.Taylor-Klaus.”

 

“As long as I don’t cause trouble, she doesn’t care. She goes to bed at like, five and wakes up at eleven. She hasn’t even noticed that I’m gone.”

 

“That’s not okay.”

 

“I don’t even need a baby-sitter.”

 

“You obviously do!”

 

“No. I. Don’t!” She tried to stand up. Her vision swam as she took a step then fell into Lance, who barely caught her. He led her back to the couch and sat her down. 

 

Shiro sat down next to her, “Pidge, you’re not okay. And it’s obvious that you need someone to watch you.”

 

“I don’t,” she warbled.

 

“That’s it, I’m calling your mother.”

 

“Don’t!” she said desperately. “She has enough to worry about. I’ll stop staying here, I’ll do whatever, please don’t call her.”

 

Shiro stood up and left, already typing in the number, he closed the door hard behind him. 

 

Tears started falling down Pidge’s face.

 

Keith and Lance sat on either side of her. She leaned on Keith and he wrapped a protective arm around her shoulder. “Pidge… why don’t you want your mom to know?”

 

“She’s so busy and worried. It’s not like she’d care anyway, but I just don’t want to get in more trouble. She already hates me enough,” she choked out through tears.

 

“Pidge, she doesn’t hate you,” Lance said sternly.

 

“She told me that she wishes I would grow out of this phase. That I would be her little boy again. To be  _ normal _ .” There was such a seething rage in her voice. It was startling. “That’s why she’s gone. She’s not doing work, she’s running away. She’s probably with her boyfriend drinking away her problems. Drinking away me.”

 

Keith hugged her shoulder more, “That’s awful, I’m so sorry, Katie.”

 

Hunk opened the door, “Sorry, I couldn’t find a cup, why’s Shiro out-” He stopped mid sentence as soon as he saw Pidge crying. He rushed over and placed the cup in her hand. He kneeled down in front of her. “It’s okay, kiddo, it’s okay.” He turned and looked at Lance, “What’s wrong?”

 

“A lot of things. I’ll catch you up later.”

 

They sat there comforting her for a few more minutes until Shiro walked back in. “I made some calls. Your mom can’t come back for two more weeks but since you need more supervision than you have at the moment, Mrs.Taylor-Klaus is clearly not cut out for the job of watching over you.”

 

Pidge sniffled and looked up tearfully. “Yeah?”

 

“So you’ll be staying on the couch in Allura and mine’s apartment for the time being.”

 

“Seriously?”

 

“I’ve called Allura and your mother. Your mother is calling Mrs.Taylor-Klaus. You’re staying with us. We’ll swing by your house and pick your stuff up on the way. Can you stand up?”

 

She wiggled around. “Yeah, probably.”

 

Pidge slowly stood, the boys around her prepared to catch her if she was to fall. She shook on her unsteady feet a little. She rested her hand on Hunk’s shoulder for support. “Thank you, all of you.” 

 

Shiro steadied her and helped her out to the car.

 

The rest of the group dispersed to their cars and drove away, all worrying about the kid that they'd almost left alone. 

 

It was clear that though her family was gone, those who loved her weren't.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Fact: CHEESE  
> Fun Fact: She's still not okay, but she's in better hands than before.


	34. In Which It's A Bunch Of Filler With Some Plot Thrown In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There is stuff going on other than this one relationship//// But I know that that's what y'all are here for//// Hunk and Shay are adorable//// So are Shiro and Allura//// also fuck you and your emotions, Keith.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo, I'm on mid-winter break!!!!!! NO school!!!!!!! Time to write!!!!! Jk, I won't do anything that I should. There's a bit of foreshadowing in this chapter! Woo!

Two days later, it seemed like a normal day. Shiro hadn’t let Pidge go to work the day after she passed out, she needed to rest. But she was back today.

 

The snow fell in droves. It was supposed to be a brutal winter this year, but it was only getting started.

 

Keith was sitting by the counter when he got a quick message from Shiro.

 

  * Come down to my office. Now. And bring Pidge’s coffee machine.



 

Keith nervously did as told. Pidge griped a bit at the stealing of the coffee machine, but was ultimately understanding. He made his way downstairs with the awkward weight of the coffee machine in his arms.

 

He finally got to Shiro’s office and twisted the door handle with his elbow. He set the machine on Shiro’s messy floor, which was littered with books and papers. He sat back down in the uncomfortable plastic chair across from Shiro. Shiro looked a mess. His hair was floofed in all the wrong places, he was wearing his glasses, and his tie clashed with his sweater vest.

 

“You okay, bro?” Keith asked.

 

“So Pidge has been staying with us and Allura’s surprisingly chill with it. And I thought that was strange because our apartment is really small and we don’t have _that_ much money to be spending. So I asked her about it and she looks me dead in the eye and says, ‘It’s good practice.’ And I say, ‘What’s that supposed to mean?’ And she says all smiley, ‘I’m pregnant.’ How do I react to that, Keith? I can’t **_father_ **!”

 

“Happily? Don’t you want this?”

 

“Well yeah, but like, AHHH.”

 

“Shiro, it is a wonder that anyone at all considers you a put-together adult.”

 

“I can’t even keep all my body parts together, how am I supposed to keep a child alive?”

 

“Shiro, you’re like, the most fatherly person I know.”

 

“I’m only twenty-five! Everything is happening so fast.”

 

“Do you regret it?”

 

“Not for a second. But I still feel like a kid. I haven’t even told Mom and Dad. Coran doesn’t know yet, he’ll find out at brunch, I’m sure. But, I’m not even out of college. Allura’s not out of college. Neither of us have steady, well-paying jobs. We’re just kids, Keith. Kids that are going to be raising a kid!”

  


“You’ll be fine. Aren’t you happy?”

 

“Of course! I’m thrilled, but I’m terrified.”

 

Keith walked around Shiro’s desk and gave him a true blue awkward sibling hug.

 

“You’re gonna be a great father.”

 

“I sure hope so.”

 

* * *

 

“Keith, uh, could you wait up just for a second?” Lance called out, as everyone was leaving for the day.

 

“Yeah sure,” he waved to Shiro signaling that he didn’t need to wait for him, “What’s up?”

 

Lance rocked back on his heels, “I, uh, well like,” he paused, no one had ever made him this nervous, “I was wondering if maybe you, uh, wantedtogooutsometimeorsomething?” His words came out in one big stream.

 

Keith laughed nervously, “I’m sorry, could you slow down a little? I didn’t really catch, any of that, at all.”

 

Lance cleared his throat, “I was asking if you wanted to, uh, go and like, catch a movie?”

 

“Like, a date?” Keith couldn’t even fathom someone like Lance liking him.

 

“Uh, yeah, like a date.”

 

Hunk and Pidge were casually eavesdropping nearby. Pidge sighed and handed Hunk a crumpled twenty dollar bill.

 

“Oh…” He shifted his weight. “No.”

 

Hunk grumbled and gave the bill back to a smirking Pidge.

 

“Oh. Okay. Uh, do you mind telling me why? I’m not gonna pursue it or anything but I’d like to know why.”

 

Keith sighed. “It’s pretty dumb, it’s just you’re hurting right now and you’re just looking for a relationship, not with me, with anyone. I’m not special, I’m the rebound. And I know it’s selfish but I kinda want to actually have a real mutual relationship,” Keith said meekly rushing the words out.

 

“Oh. Yeah. I get it. I get it, no problem. Sorry.” Lance backed away.

 

“Don’t be, I’m the one who’s sorry.”

 

The silence was so awkward that the air molecules between them were cringing.

 

“Well, uh, later, I guess,” Lance said.

 

“Yep,” Keith replied quickly.

 

Lance walked like a robot over to his car then drove away. About thirty seconds later they heard the steady honking of Lance’s truck horn, which he was repeatedly smacking his forehead on in embarrassment.

 

“Harsh.”

 

Keith jumped at the voice suddenly behind him, “Jesus, Pidge.”

 

Pidge shrugged as she sipped her juice box. She hadn’t been drinking coffee in a while. Whether that was her choice or a rule implemented by the Shiroganes was unknown. “I’m not wrong.”

 

“I mean, no you’re not, but you don’t have to make me feel bad about it.”

 

“Sorry.”

 

“It’s fine. Uh… enjoy your juice. See ya tomorrow, Pidgeon,” he said as he walked away.

 

“Seeya, Quiche.”

 

Hunk walked up beside her.

 

“So, how long do you give it?” Pidge asked.

 

“I was wrong the first time, but it’s pretty obvious that they’re gonna drag this out like some poorly-written-slow-burn fanfic. So I’m in this for the long haul. My bet’s on January. Late January,” Hunk said.

 

Pidge pondered this, “Yeah, sounds about right.”

 

“PIDGE!” Shiro yelled “Get in the car!”

 

Pidge hopped up and yelled back, “One sec!” She turned to Hunk, “Gotta head home, later, nerd.”

 

“Later, kid.”

 

They did their elaborate “The only thing keeping this place running squad” handshake, then Pidge turned on her heel and hopped into the back of Shiro’s Prius.

 

* * *

 

That evening Hunk and Shay were cuddling in Hunk’s living room, watching Atlantis: The Lost Empire when his phone started buzzing relentlessly like a business of flies.

 

Hunk sighed, “One sec, Teddybear,” he stood up and grabbed his phone.

 

“‘Sup, Bro?”

 

“HoW dO I cOnViNcE sOmEoNe ThAt I lIkE tHeM?” Lance asked very very distressedly.

 

“Uhh… I don’t know? A grandiose demonstration of your affection? Or maybe…. Just tell him?”

 

“.... How did you know I was talking about a him?”

 

“I’ve known you since we were kids. I knew you liked Keith before _you_ knew you liked Keith.”

 

“Sorcerer.”

 

“I don’t know. He likes you, but he’s too bogged down by his own insecurities to actually believe you genuinely like him, and he’s too emotionally guarded to let himself try to.. It’s gonna take a lot to convince him.”

 

“You are a sorcerer. A people sorcerer.”

 

“It’s a gift. Now if you’ll excuse me, Shay and I are having movie night. Later.”

 

“Adios, my dude.”

 

Hunk hung up and walked back over to the couch. He made moves to sit back down until Shay piped up, “Ah-ah-ah, mister, you know the rules,” they said while holding up the empty popcorn bowl. "First one to get up gets refills."

 

Hunk sighed and went to the kitchen to pop more of that delish corn.

 

* * *

 

Shiro sat at his desk pouring over his homework assignments. He furrowed his brow at the words in front of him. He was so invested in his work that he didn’t hear Allura come into their room.

 

Allura walked up behind him and lazily rested her arms on his shoulders. She gave him a quick peck on top of his head before placing her chin there. “Hello, Love.”

 

“Hey, Babe. Pidge in bed?”

 

“In couch. She’s probably asleep by now.”

 

Shiro shrugged.

 

“Something on your mind?” Allura asked.

 

“I’m just kinda stressed, I mean, between school and work and effectively adopting a child for a few weeks and the fact that I’m going to be an actual father soon. Mostly that last part.”

 

“Sounds like you could use some stress relief,” Allura said. One could practically _hear_ the eyebrow wiggle in her voice.

 

“Not right now, honey. I’m kinda busy.”

 

She rolled her eyes and stood up, “Yeah, okay. But how does a shoulder massage sound?”

 

“Amazing.” He turned in his swivel chair and looked his wife in the eyes, “I love you so much.”

 

Allura bent down and kissed him, “You too.”

 

Shiro turned back around to finish his work, and Allura gave him a shoulder massage.

 

* * *

 

Keith watched Buzzfeed Unsolved until 3 a.m.

 

He resisted the urge to call Lance and steeled himself for the awkwardness that he’d surely face in their future interactions.

 

**This is your fault, idiot.**

 

**Why did you even reject him? He confessed his love for you and you were just like, “Miss me with that gay shit.” And fucked right out of there. You do like him, don’t you?**

 

**Obviously. That’s why I can’t let him fool himself into getting attached to me.**

 

**It’s a little late for that.**

 

**Well maybe he’ll realize what a huge mistake liking me is and he’ll come to his senses and find some nice person who actually deserves him. He’s not in his right mind anyway. He’s just rebounding. It’d be wrong to take advantage of that.**

 

**But you could.**

 

**It’S a LiTtLe LaTe FoR tHaT.**

 

**Did you just use a stale meme on yourself. You’ve reached a new level of pathetic.**

 

**And thus, I’ve proven why Lance should love anyone but me: stale memes.**

 

**You’re not wrong.**

 

Keith’s sassy thought conversation was interrupted by a trademark *wheeze* from one of the bois. He decided that he should go to bed.

 

He slept remarkably well that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Fact: I had to do actual meme research for this.  
> Fun Fact: Shiro is a mess. A scared mess.  
> Fun Fact: I've had that confession scene written for months and I finally got to use it. I'm so excited. I feel like it's not very well-written but it's there now so... eh  
> Fun Fact: It took a good five minutes for me to think of a pet name for Shay  
> Fun Fact: alure wantd that fuqq  
> Fun Fact: Keith isn't a Boogara and I will fight you on this.  
> Fun Fact: Hunk knows a lot. It would be wise to listen to him.  
> 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01100101 01101110 01100100 00100000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01101110 01101001 01100111 01101000


	35. In Which Lance Unabashedly Flirts and Keith Is Abashed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> flirt flirt, o shit b plot

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got a cat  
> This is the length of a short novel.  
> It's a quarter to three a.m.  
> help

A few weeks passed. Sure, there was some tension around Lance and Keith, but they were mostly uneventful. The snow had started to melt a little, making it packy, perfect for snowballs.

 

Shiro and Keith parked in the snowy lot and walked toward the library. They were talking about some random show they’d both watched last night. 

 

“INCOMING!!” 

 

**_Fwap_ **

 

The snow splattered against Shiro’s scar-torn face without warning. He faltered slightly with the smallest “Oof,” before his face was split by a grin.

 

Lance popped up from behind the snow-wall that he’d made. “Sorry, Shiro, I was trying to hit Keith,” he barely got out before he was hit in the nose.

 

Keith chuckled, “Like that?”

 

Before anyone had the chance to read too much into Keith’s tone, Hunk leapt into the fight yelling, “YES! SNOWBALL FIGHT!” He was promptly pelted with snowballs until he fled to hide behind his own snow-wall. 

 

They each got their fair share of snowball hits. Keith probably hit the most people, because he made his snowballs so damn fast and he had a much bulkier teammate (sorry, Shiro) to take the brunt of most of the attacks. Lance, despite claiming that he has “amazing aim” and is “practically a professional sharpshooter” missed most of his throws. Possibly because he was rather distracted by the cute boy across the way, (no not Shiro) (sorry Shiro).

 

The fun and chaos was brought to an abrupt halt as Pidge came up the walk after being dropped off by her mom. “I’m carrying drinks for half of your and if any of you fucknuts hit me they are going on the ground, whether or not I fall.”

 

“Pidge!” Lance yelled, hopping up and brushing off snow, “Come get a hug!” he yelled, opening his arms wide to give her a freezing cold, damp squeeze.

 

“NOPE,” she replied, scuttling away on the icy path. “Nope nope nope nope,” she continued, making her way through the door.

 

The other boys stood up and brushed off, while Lance attempted to follow Pidge. He was however, unprepared for the lack of traction that the ice provided him. To be frank, Lance fell on his ass.

 

Keith was the closest, he carefully walked over to help Lance. “Hey man you okay?”

 

Lance looked him in the eyes and without missing a beat replied, “I don’t know, I fell for you pretty hard.” He added a wink and double finger guns.

 

Keith pulled his hand away, turned and left. He threw his hands up in the air in resignation as he strolled carefully into the library. 

 

Hunk actually helped Lance up. As he did so, he said, “Bro… I don’t know if it’s because of the freezing temperature or what but that was the coldest shoulder I’ve ever seen.”

 

Lance squinted, “The only reason he turned around so fast was because he was blushing,” he said with so much confidence that Hunk, and the universe had no choice but to believe him, because Keith was in fact, blushing his cheeks off.

 

The rest of the group filed into the library, careful not to slip. Shiro went downstairs and changed into the spare clothes that he had in his office, because snow is cold and cold is not good for getting work done. Hunk and Lance grabbed the last two coffees that Pidge had brought them. Lance’s was a “Double medium mocha whip-chip with a caramel-butterscotch flavor spin latte.” 

 

Hunk got a hot chocolate. He said later to the other boys and left to his maintenance closet. 

 

“So,” Lance said, “what’s up? How was your week?”

 

“School sucks. The usual, you?”

 

“It was… eventful. Gwen’s pregnant and that’s making her kinda grumpy. She’s not very fun when she’s grumpy. And all of my teachers decided to dump homework on me. Bleh.”

 

“Yep.”

 

“Hey Keith,”

 

“Hm?”

 

“Have you been to the doctor’s lately?” Lance laid his back on the counter and looked up at Keith. 

 

“Uh… no? Why?”

 

“Because you look like you could use some vitamin me.”

 

Keith sighed heavily and chugged his coffee. He took a moment to reply, “Is this what it is today? That’s what we’re doing?”

 

“ _ We? _ I mean, I figured I’d be the only one pick up lining, but if you want to try, feel free.”

 

Keith drained the cup, “Nope.”

 

Lance shrugged, “Okay then.” 

 

There was a loud mechanical noise of the heater breaking, almost immediately followed by a clatter from Hunk’s closet. He rushed out and into the basement.

 

Lance sipped on his over complicated coffee. “Ah! I’ve got one!”

 

“Shoot,”

 

“If you were a coffee, you’d be espresso, ‘cause you’re so fine.” He followed this up with a cheesy wink and finger guns.

 

Keith groaned and pretended not to blush. “Why don’t you go, shelve some books or something? I’m pretty sure that some were returned overnight.”

 

“Psshh, working? Lame,” Lance said as he walked away to go do as he told and think of some new pickup lines.

 

Pidge poked her head out of her office. “You are absolutely failing at deflecting flirtation.” She took a sip of her drink.

 

“I know. I know.” He covered his eyes with his hands. “Wait a second, I thought you weren’t drinking coffee anymore.”

 

“It’s chai tea. There’s a lot less caffeine in it.”

 

“Ah.”

 

“Wanna sip?”

 

“No thanks, don’t like tea.”

 

“Not a tea guy, huh? Interesting.”

 

“HEY PIDGEON, CAN YOU COME DOWN HERE? I NEED YOUR TINY ARMS,” Hunk suddenly yelled from the basement.

 

“YEAH ONE SEC,” Pidge returned, then directed her attention back to Keith, “Welp, I’ve been beckoned, hasta la vista, nerd.” She promptly jumped over the counter and dashed downstairs.

 

“Why does no one even acknowledge the ‘quiet’ part of libraries?” Keith wondered, to the emptiness around him.

 

* * *

 

Lance strolled up to the counter and slid his library card across it to Keith, “Hey Keith, I’m checking something out,’kay?” he said in his trademarked pickup line voice.

 

Keith didn’t look up from his phone. He held out his hand for whatever book Lance was getting, “What is it?” 

 

Lance took his hand, which made Keith look up in surprise. “You,” Lance said flirtatiously. 

 

Keith rolled his eyes but let his hand stay there, “Again with the lines.”

 

Lance suddenly got on one knee, pulling Keith forward, “Oh, fair maid of the bookshelves, whatever can I do to prove that my heart belongs only to you?” he said so dramatically that he’d out-drama a soap opera from the fifties.

 

Keith absolutely panicked. “Uh… I don’t know, buy me a coffee or something? I don’t know.”

 

Lance stood up, still firmly grasping Keith’s hand, “Seriously? That’s it? Wait, wow Keith, you have some pretty hands.” He grabbed Keith’s other hand and started to examine them. “You know, I bet they’d look even better wrapped around my-”

 

Hunk, interrupting once again, burst between them, yelling, “Holy bible! Praise the Lord, Amen!” thus completing the meme.

 

Keith snorted and bent over laughing. Hunk and Lance high-fived, as that had been premeditated.

 

Hunk walked back to his maintenance closet to go fiddle with his robotics project.

 

Lance walked around to be on the right side of the counter, next to Keith. 

 

Keith looked at him strangely, “Are you high or something?”

 

“High on looove.” Lance dragged out the ‘o’ to emphasise his joking nature.

 

“Riiiiiiight.” Keith crossed his arms and started to look at his phone.

 

“I’m sorry, did I do something wrong?” Lance asked genuinely.

 

“No, it’s just that it’s much easier to not like you when you aren’t being so annoyingly charming.”

 

“D’aww you think I’m charming.”

 

“Annoyingly charming, emphasis on annoying.”

 

Lance smiled, “For some reason, I doubt that.”

 

Keith rolled his eyes again and tried to hide a smile.

 

“Was your father an alien? Because you are out of this world,” Lance joked, of course, with a wink and some finger guns.   
  
“No, my mom actually,” Keith dead-panned.

 

“What.”

 

“What.”

 

* * *

 

The end of the day eventually rolled around. Lance stopped Keith just as he was about to leave, “Hey Keith, I’ve got something to say.”

 

Keith sighed, waiting for another pickup line.

 

“I was feeling kinda off today, but I have to thank you.”

 

Keith raised his eyebrow.

 

“You really turned me on!” Lance finger gunned.

 

“Oh my God, Lance.”

 

“Oh, no, for as heavenly as I look, I’m no god, just a mortal man.”

 

Keith gave a bemused smile and an eyeroll. “Obviously. I mean, gods are supposed to be hot.”

 

Lance gasped dramatically and Keith ran off. “Come back here!” Lance yelled playfully.

 

Keith jumped into Shiro’s car and yelled “Drive! Drive!”, which Shiro promptly, yet safely did. Keith blew Lance kisses of mockery as they drove away.

 

“Hate to see him go but I love watching him leave,” Lance muttered before ambling to his own car and leaving.

 

* * *

 

Allura was eating dinner with Shiro when her phone rang. She was about to let it go to voicemail, but she glanced at the caller ID. It was Pidge. “One sec, love, Katie’s calling, I’ll be right back. I have to make sure she’s okay.” Shiro muffled an okay through a face full of food and Allura walked away to take the call.

 

“What’s going on, Katie?” Allura asked, concerned.

 

Pidge sounded as if she was mid-emotional crisis, because she was, “My mom’s getting married.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Fact: I said that the Shallura wedding wouldn't be the only marriage in the story.  
> Fun Fact: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_LrnWWhch8 


	36. In Which It's A Christmas Special

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Christmas////more Christmas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hi. I'm tired. I want death. Sorry for missing last week. I've been mega busy. Thanks for reading. I'm busy but I'll try to update regularly. :) I wish there was a text emoji for extremely tired.

December came with a thaw. The snow started to melt and the temperature rose to a warm forty-one degrees fahrenheit. It was time to decorate for Christmas at the library.

 

There was tinsel everywhere, Pidge was riding around on Hunk’s shoulders taping decorations up, since they still didn’t have a ladder. There were tons of Christmas songs playing.

 

Lance was in a great mood, the Christmas vibes were strong and it was one of his favorite holidays. He bopped around to the songs while he sprinkled glitter on the paper snowflakes that he’d cut out.

 

“How’s it going down there?” Pidge asked from Hunk’s shoulders.

 

Lance stood up to his full height, about eye level with Pidge’s knees. “Good. Do you like my snowflakes?”

 

“They’re beautiful,” Hunk said.

 

“I’m surprised you can carry Pidge around for so long, Hunk.”

 

“She’s pretty light.”

 

Pidge rested her elbows on Hunk’s head. She made her voice whispery, despite actually speaking at the same level as before, “So what’s up with Keith?”

 

“What do you mean?” Lance asked, imitating her tone.

 

“Any luck with him liking you?” Hunk clarified.

 

“Well it seems like he does but then he just gets kinda spooked and hurries away,” Lance said despondently.

 

Pidge’s voice became encouraging, “Don’t give up hope!”

 

“At this point I feel like kind of a pest and a creep.” Lance sighed. “Maybe I should leave him alone. Maybe he’s not as into me as I thought he was.”

 

“I’ve got a good feeling about today, though. Maybe it’s the Christmas in the air making me hopeful, or something else entirely, but I just think something good’s going to happen.” Hunk smiled.

 

“Well, here’s some more snowflakes to hang up,” Lance said with finality, handing them the paper crafts, “Have fun. I’ve got this.”

 

Hunk teetered away with Pidge on his shoulders, off to put up some more paper snowflakes.

 

Keith grumbled past, spraying pine scented air freshener and tossing handfuls of the snow around on the counters and shelves. He was scowling slightly with a garishly colored green and red elf hat.

 

“Keith! Spray some of that sweet Christmas tree smell over here!”

 

Keith sighed heavily and trudged over.

 

“What’s with the grumpy face? Can’t you feel the Christmas spirit?”

 

Keith coughed. “I sure can smell it,” he said bitterly.

 

Lance gasped, “Do you hate Christmas or something?”

 

“It’s not my favorite holiday.”

 

“Gasp!” he said theatrically, “How could you say such a thing?”

 

Keith shrugged. “It’s just not my favorite, reminds me of my dad,” he said nonchalantly.

 

“Oh. Duh. Sorry.”

 

“It’s no big deal.”

 

The silence hung in the air almost as heavily as the copious amounts of air freshener.

 

“Well if you don’t make new happy memories of Christmas time, then you’ll just be sad every year.” Lance wasn’t entirely sure if this was the best thing to say.

 

“I guess.” Keith wasn’t sure either.

 

“Here, stop creating more holes in the ozone with your off-brand febreeze and make some snowflakes with me.”

 

Keith walked around the counter and set down the air freshener and sack of faux snow. “So how do I do this?’

 

“It’s just a paper snowflake. You fold the circle into a pizza slice ten cut out little bits.”

 

“Oh really? All the ones that I saw were so intricate that I figured it was some kind of difficult thing.”

 

“Yeah well, I’m practically an expert.”

 

“The last time you claimed that you got completely destroyed in a snowball fight.”

 

“Are you doubting my ability?”

 

“Maybe I am!” he said with a mischievous smile.

 

“Then I challenge you to a battle of snowflakes.”

 

“What’s the wager?”

 

“Loser has to make a batch of Christmas cookies for the winner?”

 

“Lame.”

 

“But we’re both motivated by food.”

 

“True.”

 

“Five minutes, best snowflake wins.”

 

“You’re on,” Keith said confidently.

 

They snipped and glittered with such conviction that it was hard to believe that it was entirely motivated by food and a love of winning.

 

Keith glanced over at Lance’s snowflake. It looked good! Too good. Distraction time! He sprinkled leftover glitter into his hand and dumped it onto Lance’s head. “Oops,” he said insincerely.  


“Oi!” Lance yelped, shaking glitter from his hair. “Oooh-hooo no you don’t!” he said, grabbing a fistful of fake snow and tossing it over Keith. They threw glitter and snow until Lance’s timer went off.

 

Lance turned off the timer and said, “Well then, let’s see what you made.”

 

Keith held up the pitiful snowflake. It was cut haphazardly and he’d accidentally cut off a large chunk of the top. “Okay, yeah, it’s awful but I’m sure yours isn’t much better.”

 

Lance had a smile on his face that was a mix of pained and amused. “I beg to differ.” He held up the little paper snowflake. It was better than all the others he’d made. It was as intricately detailed. He’d even cut cute little heart shaped holes into it. It had delicate little pieces snipped out and even made it look like an actual snowflake.

 

“Ah. So. What kind of cookies do you want?”

 

“The Christmas kind.”

 

“I can’t guarantee good quality. I’m not a chef.”

 

“As long as they’re baked with christmas cheer, I’ll love them.”

 

“I assure you that you will not.”

 

“Well, you’d better get back to causing global warming. I’ll hang these beauties up.”

 

“Nooooo…”

 

Lance pushed Keith lightly. “Yes. Go.”

 

Keith left with his air freshener and bag of snow.

 

Lance hummed a jolly tune as he hung the snowflakes up side by side over the break room door.

 

* * *

 

The group conjugated in the lobby. Pidge and Hunk lounged in the chairs by the doors that were supposed to be for waiting but no one ever had to use them. Shiro and Allura were cuddling on a bench that was also in the lobby for waiting. Lance peppily sat on the counter wearing reindeer antlers with tiny jingle bells that tinkled with every move. They all sang along to Christmas carols in a mishmash chorus.

 

“Cocoa’s here!” Keith said merrily as he emerged from the break room holding a tray of mugs. He was in a much better mood all day because of the happy atmosphere. His ugly elf hat was perched on his head. He passed out the drinks and set the remaining one on the end table next to Pidge for when Coran came upstairs.

 

Keith hopped up next to Lance on the counter and handed him his cocoa. He felt the urge to rest his head on Lance’s shoulder. He just stood awkwardly straight instead.

 

Coran burst from the basement. “I FOUND IT!”

 

The rest of the group just stared blankly. “What exactly did you find?” Allura asked patiently.

 

Coran smiled giddily. “Mistletoe!”

 

“Blahhhhh. Laaaame,” Pidge complained as she handed Coran his mug.   


“Thank you,” he said taking the mug, “But actually it’s quite traditional!” He sipped the cocoa.

 

Coran had attached the mistletoe onto a stick so he could hold it above people’s heads.

 

First victims were Shiro and Allura, of course. Allura gave him a very PG peck on the mouth, to joking calls of “Leave room for Jesus” and “PDA!”

 

Coran swung the mistletoe around to Pidge, main perpetrator of said calls.

 

“Too bad for you, I don’t have a person to smooch.”

 

Allura snuck up next to her and gave her a peck on the top of the head. Pidge squawked.

 

Coran moved on to Hunk. He pulled up a picture of Shay on his phone and kissed it.

 

“Aaahhh grossss. You two are too sweet,” Pidge grumbled.

 

Hunk shrugged. “It’s true.”

 

Coran spun around until the mistletoe stick was between Keith and Lance.

 

Keith sighed.

 

Lance smirked, “You’re going to make a big dea-”

 

He didn’t get to finish his sentence before Keith whipped around, kissed him and then took a sip of his cocoa as if nothing happened.

 

Lance was absolutely without words. He just kind of made a surprised grunt-choke-snort nose.

 

Keith finished his long sip of cocoa. “So. Gift-exchange time?”

 

Everyone ran off to go get the presents that they’d hidden around the library.

 

When they’d gotten back Lance had snapped out of his stupor. He’d also grabbed the gift.

 

“Okay! Exchange!” Coran declared and everyone rushed around to give eachother their gifts.

 

Coran opened his gift from Hunk. It was a mustache grooming kit. He liked it very much even though he had one just like it at home. He decided he’d have one for his car and one for his house.

 

Hunk opened his gift. It was from Pidge. It was a little poorly made clay figure of what looked like two people holding a box up. The two people lump things were smiling. One was much shorter and the other was wider.

 

“It’s us and it’s a computer,” she said, kicking her legs.

 

“I love it.” Hunk hugged her.

 

Pidge opened her gift, from Lance. It was three cute pairs of clip on earrings. They were technically bought, but it was Lance’s older sister who hand-made them. Pidge put them all on at the same time because she couldn’t decide which ones she liked best.

 

Lance tore into the gift from Shiro. It was a bunch of face masks and one cucumber inside a tiny cooler.

 

“Allura said those are good ones,” Shiro said.

 

“You should try the banana one. It’s amazing,” Allura added.  


“You guys are great.”

 

Shiro opened his gift, it was from Allura, which was silly since they were married and giving each other Christmas gifts anyway. She gave him a new tube of white hair dye and a box of cheerios that she promised not to eat. He sighed and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

 

Allura opened her present. It was huge and from Keith. It was a painting of space specifically colored to go well with their apartment’s walls.

 

“Keith, this is so sweet! It must’ve taken you forever.”

 

“Check the bottom of the bag.”

 

Allura dug around at the bottom. She pulled out a dumpy old teddy bear. It was roughly sewn and partially stained. One of its eyes was missing. There was stuffing sticking out of a tiny rip that had been poorly patched up.

 

“I know, it’s dumb, but that was Shiro’s when he was a little kid. I patched it up as best as I could, but it wasn’t great.”

 

“I love it.” Allura got all teary eyed and came over and gave Keith a bone-crushingly strong hug.

 

“Yeah, well. It’s not a big deal.”

 

Allura sat back down and Keith opened his card. It was a birthday card for a three year old girl, but inside it had a free membership card for sword fighting lessons. “Woah, cool!”

 

“I took sword fighting lessons when I was a boy! I was quite good! I thought you’d enjoy it too!” Coran explained.

 

They all smiled and sang carols. No one noticed the peculiar way that Shiro’s hand rested on Allura’s stomach or how Keith’s hand started to creep closer and closer to Lance’s.

 

Eventually they all went home to enjoy the evening.

 

Keith was the last to leave. As he locked up for the night he glanced over at the two snowflakes hanging above the break room. He smiled softly to himself.

 

Maybe Christmas wasn’t so bad after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Fact: I'm too tired to write this right now. Maybe I'll write some real ones later.  
> Fun Fact: Keith was right. Those cookies were awful, but Lance liked them anyway.  
> Lance's mood: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xyelm3WUYfc  
> 01101000 01110100 01110100 01110000 01110011 00111010 00101111 00101111 01110111 01110111 01110111 00101110 01110100 01110101 01101101 01100010 01101100 01110010 00101110 01100011 01101111 01101101 00101111 01100010 01101100 01101111 01100111 00101111 01101101 01100101 01101100 01101111 01100100 01110010 01100001 01101101 01100001 01110100 01101001 01100011 00110011 01110010 01100100 01110111 01101000 01100101 01100101 01101100


	37. In Which This Drawn Out Shit Is Finally Done Being Drawn Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Snowed in  
> Yeet

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yo sorry about the sparatic updates. I'm losing my motivation a lil bit and have been super busy.   
> But enough excuses.  
> The end is nigh my dudes.  
> Comment! Please! I'm sorry to beg but it really helps me.  
> No, this isn't the end of the story.

January rolled around and winter was hitting hard. School had been canceled two days in a row for the first time in twenty years. 

 

Pidge was living with Shiro and Allura for a few weeks since her mom was on her honeymoon. Pidge refused to change her name to Iverson, she kept it as Holt,. She had recently been strangely quiet and seemed to be hitting a growth spurt. She was in a pretty bad mood. 

 

Lance’s sister had given birth to a beautiful baby girl, Fabiana, after their  Lance called her little bean.

 

Hunk and Shay were as cute as ever.

 

And Keith was, as of tomorrow, seventeen.

 

They were in the library, as always. The snow fell in droves that were similar to wasps flying out of a wasps nest that someone his viciously with a plastic baseball bat in the August heat. But it wasn’t hot, it was negative seventeen degrees. And snowflakes can’t sting, but it was pretty much the same thing. 

 

Lance was trotting around the library listening to musicals on his phone. The peppy tones of Eliza Hamilton teaching her son how to play the piano droned out the raging storm outside.

 

Keith sat behind the counter doodling on a pad of sticky notes and half-listening to the storm broadcast. The man on the broadcast was warning people to stay inside and off the roads. The weather was supposed to be continuously awful until at least the next afternoon. Keith checked the time, six-thirty; quitting time. He stood up and looked out the glass doors.

 

“Oh,” he said at the completely snow covered doors. He listened to the wind howling outside. “I really should’ve seen that coming,” he thought aloud. He walked downstairs to Shiro’s office and knocked on the door. There was a conversation going on inside. It stopped abruptly and Shiro opened the door.

 

“Hey Keith, what’s up?” he asked, opening the door a little more. Allura was sitting on the desk reading a novel.

 

“We’re snowed in. And we’re not supposed to be on the roads.” He turned to Allura, “Hey Allura.”

 

“Hey Kiddo,” she replied nonchalantly. 

 

“Well, uh, we have some blankets and pillows and stuff I think. You can probably bunk on the couches for the night.”

 

“We’re just going to stay here?”

 

“If you want to walk home in the storm, go for it.”

 

Keith sighed and started to turn around.

 

“Keith, wait,” Allura said.

 

“What?”

 

“Do I look pregnant?”

 

Keith kinda stared at her confusedly. “I guess, but probably because I already know.”

 

Allura shot a look at Shiro, “See? They can probably already tell! We should just tell them already.”

 

“Love, they can’t tell. No one is examining your stomach at all times. It’s not a big deal.”

 

“But I still think it’s time to tell them.”

 

“If you want to, I think it’s safe to now.”

 

“Uh, well I’m heading back upstairs to tell the others that we’re snowed in,” he said, slowly backing up. He walked upstairs and past the snow covered door.

 

He walked around to tell Pidge and Hunk then eventually found Lance dancing around the library. He seemed to be very dramatically reenacting both parts of “Say No To This”. It was absolutely ridiculous.

 

“Lance.”

 

He didn’t respond and continued to pretend to seduce the very handsome secretary of treasury. 

 

“Lance!”

 

He continued dancing around. Keith wasn’t sure if he was purposely ignoring him at this point and hamming it up so much as a joke or if he was genuinely this into his acting.

 

Keith sighed and walked over to Lance to tap his shoulder.

 

Lance suddenly threw his hands up in the air, acting out the chorus of “No!”. His spaghetti arms smacked Keith in the nose. He froze and looked over. He slowly plucked out an earbud. “Hey Keeeeiiiithh…. How’s it going buddy?”

 

“Fine. But we’re completely snowed in so we’re stuck here for the night. I’d suggest calling your family to tell them that you’re safe.”

 

“Oh. Thanks for telling me.”

 

“No problem, Ms.Reynolds,” Keith joked.

 

Lance’s mouth squished into a straight line. He sighed in resignation. “Was the dancing even good?”

 

“Well to be honest-”

 

The wind shrieked even louder and with a loud crash from outside, the lights turned off, plunging them into darkness reminiscent of the souls that emo middle schools proclaim to have.

 

“Oh shit,” They both said.

 

“Can you turn on your flashlight? I’ll call Shiro,” Keith said.

 

“Okay. No prob. This isn’t creepy at all. This is fine.”

 

Keith called Shiro, he said they’d all meet up in the lobby once Lance and Keith got some candles. 

 

“Candles are in the supply closet. They’re supposed to be in case of emergency only,” Lance said.

 

“I think this probably qualifies as an emergency, Lance,” Keith said tartly.

 

They walked over to the supply closet by the light of Lance’s phone. Slowly but steadily, they walked through the dark shelves. A loud clump of snow fell off the roof, startling them both. Lance grabbed Keith’s hand. Keith didn’t protest. It was nice to have someone there. And Lance’s hands were warm, which was comforting.

 

They finally got there. They quickly found the candles. As they left they heard a faint squeaking.

 

“Oh! We should grab the mice to keep an eye on them,” Lance said.

 

Keith made a very apprehensive face, “What if they get out? We should probably leave them here.”

 

Lance walked to the cage. “Here, hold the light so you don’t have to cawwy the big scawy mice,” he said in an annoyingly babyish voice.

 

“I can carry them!” Keith retorted defensively.

 

“You sure? I don’t want you to drop them if one squeaks.”

 

“I can do it,” Keith insisted through gritted teeth as her picked up the cage. The fearful mice scittered around because their cage was being carried by and equally fearful teenager.

 

Lance and Keith walked side by side to the lobby, Keith occasionally whimpering slightly when a mouse squeaked or sniffed his fingers. Lance gave him only slightly insincere words of encouragement.

 

They finally go to the lobby where everyone else wah already fathered. Shiro had gotten some battery powered Christmas lights from the Christmas decorations that had yet to be put away and wrapped them around the corner of the counter so no one ran into it. Hunk was boiling water on a George Foreman that he brought from his room while Allura and Shiro looked on nervously. Pidge brought two sleeping bags, a few blankets and a pillow from when she was staying in the library. Allura was on the phone, assuring Coran that she was fine. He was at a swap meet int a different state while the storm was going on.

 

“Looks like a party in here!” Lance joked, setting down the box of candles.

 

Allura hung up and finally looked away from the dubious tiny grill. “Oh, you brought my mice!” She took them from a very relieved Keith, “Thank you!” She started baby talking the mice and left to deposit them on the counter.

 

“Hey guys, y’all want some tea?” Pidge offered as the boys walked over to investigate the whole operation. Hunk was wearing gardening gloves over thick gloves, he picked up the bowl the water was in and poured it into a few mugs with tea bags in them.

 

“Yeah, sure,” Lance said.

 

“Okay, it’ll only take a minute. While we’re waiting, where are the candles? I wanna set something on fire,” she said with a devious smile.

 

“Only one you little pyromaniac,” Shiro called from across the lobby.

 

“Fiiiiiiiine,” she grumbled and walked over to the box of candles to find the best one to burn.

 

They set up their little circle, Lance called his family to make sure they were all okay and assure them that he was as well. Keith sent the Shiroganes a text. Hunk sent his moms a voicemail because they both had their phones off. Pidge decided that she wouldn’t bother her mother.

 

“So, what’re we doing?” Lance asked.

 

“Well, I’m going to make us some dinner,” Hunk said, “Who’s up for SpaghettiOs?”

 

Everyone half-heartedly agreed to the canned food. 

 

“Good because that’s all we have.” Hunk stood on his knees and waddled over to the grill, dragging a blanket and Pidge along with him because she refused to get off of it.

 

The rest traded stories. Lance already knew most of Keith’s stories, most of them were Cryptid based creepypastas. It didn’t help calm anyone down, but Keith was a good story teller once he got into it. They all jumped when Hunk declared dinner ready.

 

They sat around and ate their SpaghettiOs. Except for Keith, who couldn’t eat them. He had a peanut butter sandwich.

 

After their dinner they sang some campfire songs, just because. Pidge got really pumped during “Campfire Song Song” even though her voice cracked multiple times.

 

After they’d sung all the campfire songs they could think of (which wasn’t that many), Allura tinked her plastic fork against her bowl. “I have an announcement!” Shiro gave her hand a reassuring squeeze. “I’m pregnant,” she said with a grin.

 

Everyone chorused various sounds of excitement.

 

“We should celebrate!” Lance said, he loved kids, especially babies.

 

“I have some grape juice in the fridge, it should be cold,” Pidge offered.

 

“Grape juice it is!” They exclaimed.

 

Pidge grabbed the juice from her fridge and poured them each a glass. They did a toast.

 

“Hey Pidge, why do you have all this stuff? Like all the spaghettiOs and stuff?” Lance asked.

 

“I eat here most of the time because I don’t like eating at school.”

 

“Reasonable.”

 

They played never have I ever, Pidge won, because 9/10 fingers were still up by the end of the game. The perks of being aro/ace.

 

Hunk yawned. It was only nine, but the darkness combined with a sleepy candlelit atmosphere and the calming sounds of the storm outside created the perfect mix to make everyone pretty drowsy. He checked his phone for a weather update. “Well school’s canceled tomorrow and everything should have calmed down enough for us to be dug out. So, uh, I’m going to bed. Later dudes, don’t let the bed bugs bite!” He got up to go back to his breakroom, dragging a blanket with him.

 

The rest all said goodnight to him, Shiro and Allura decided to follow suit and go to bed as well. They took two blankets and snuggled together on one of the lobby couches. Pidge and the two remaining boys broke off, Pidge to her office to presumably use up the rest of her data and phone battery. Keith and Lance went to the break room with the sleeping bags. 

 

They laid in their sleeping bags. Lance put his on the couch, they rock paper scissored for it.

 

“Night, Lance,” Keith said.

 

“Night, Keith,” Lance replied.

 

A few quiet minutes passed.

 

“Are you asleep?” Lance whispered.

 

“No.”

 

“Neither am I.”

 

“Oh really. I thought this was just elaborate sleep-talking.”

 

“Okay, list of things I don’t need; your sass.”

 

Keith rolled onto his side to peer up at where Lance was through the darkness.

 

“Too bad. What’s up?”

 

“ The Incredibles Two is coming out.”

 

“Yeah?”

 

“I was a baby when the first one came out.”

 

“Yes? Where are you going with this?”   
  


“I don’t know, the passage of time is kinda freaking me out.”

 

“I wasn’t even alive in the nineties, but they’re still what comes to mind when someone says ‘last decade’.”

 

“Same. You know those ‘only nineties kids will remember’ things? I remember a bunch of those.”

 

“It’s probably because of your older sisters.”

 

“Yeah. Probably. Ya know Avatar?”

 

“The movie o-”

 

“-The show.”

 

“Yes, obviously.”

 

“What tribe would you be?”

 

“Fire nation, what about you?”

 

“I’ve taken quizzes and stuff and I got Fire nation but tbh I prefer water.”

 

“I’m not surprised.”

 

“Are you cold?”

 

“Yeah, I am. Are you?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Wanna come lay on the floor with me?”

 

“But you’re always cold,” Lance whined as he wiggled out of his sleeping bag and flopped it onto the floor. He wiggled back into it. “This isn’t much better.”

 

“I think we can zip the sleeping bags together. Can you turn your flashlight on?”

 

“Yeah sure.” Lance stood up and turned his light on. They both squawked at the bright light. Keith fumbled around trying to zip the sleeping bags together. He finally managed to after flipping them around multiple times. 

 

They both slipped back in and Lance turned off his light. “Wow. This is gay.”

 

“We’ve shared a bed before.”

 

“We’ve made out before.”

 

“I still don’t remember that.”

 

“It was a weird night. You were super flirty.”

 

“We can talk about something else now.”

 

“I’m still cold.”

 

“I mean, we could cuddle or something.”

 

“No homo and all that.”

 

“Would there be a problem if there was homo?”

 

Lance’s heart beat faster in his chest. His face felt suddenly hot enough to melt the entire storm. “I already know you’re gay. It’s not a big deal.”

 

“You know what I mean.”

 

“I don’t think so.”

 

“I like you, Lance. I have for a while. And I haven’t been completely honest with you about that because I was so afraid that you didn’t- err, don’t feel the same way.”

 

Lance smiled. “You don’t have to be afraid.” He moved closer to Keith. “Is it okay if I kiss you?”

 

“Yes,” Keith replied breathily.

 

So he did.

 

Keith pulled away. He didn’t want to, but he had something to say. “I don’t want this to be a one off thing.”

 

“I don’t either?”

 

“I’m just… worried.”

 

Lance traced his fingers along Keith’s jaw. “The only reason that I’ve been with so many people is because I didn’t really feel a romantic connection. I feel different with you. Everything does.”

 

Keith kissed him. They were both smiling so much that it was kind of hard to. “So like… are we a thing?”

 

“We really should’ve been a long time ago.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Fact: Pidge had two sleeping bags because one was for padding.  
> Fun Fact: Their arms were super numb when they woke up.   
> Fun Fact: All they did was smooching. Those are Pidge's sleeping bags. That would be rude.  
> Fun Fact: I am 100% not going to write smut. It makes me uncomfortable. If you want to read some then like, read a different fic, pretend it's canon here, and continue. If you're into reading that, fine, but it's personally not my cup of tea.  
> Fun Fact: The first thing that Lance said the next morning was "Happy Birthday"  
> Fun Fact: The rest of the library staff (and Shay) owe Hunk like, $50 bucks each.


	38. In Which They're Happy and Dating, Blah, Blah, Blah

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chapters is as described.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy April fools day! Don't worry, the chapter isn't a joke. But you may want to take everything else with a grain of salt.  
> Comment! I've got like, no motivation and like, three more planned chapters.  
> Current obsession: Doki Doki Literature club's hidden lore

I’d been almost six months since Lance and Keith started dating. No one was particularly surprised that they finally did, but they were a little surprised it’s lasted this long. Everyone was betting on a month, maybe two. Except Hunk, but he had a weird knack for these things.

 

Finals week had been hard on them both, but it was almost Summer. They were in the library as always.

 

“Keith!” Lance said, entering the library through the lobby doors, bubble-tea in the hand.

 

“Hey! What’s you get me?”

 

Lance walked up to the counter, “Banana with almond milk.”

 

“You know me so well.” Keith leaned over the counter and gave Lance a peck on the cheek.

 

“I mean, you texted me what you wanted, but I’ll take the compliment.” Lance walked around to the other side. “You free after work?”

 

“Like I’m ever not.”

 

“It’s called being polite, I’m trying to make it seem like you have a life outsied the library and school.”

 

“Well I don’t. What do you have in mind?”

 

“It’s a surprise.”

 

Keith gave him a concerned look. “Last time-”

 

“-I know, ‘last time’. I didn’t think that through.”

 

“No fireworks?”

 

“No fire at all.”

 

“Good.”

 

“Meet me after work, I’ve been put on closet-cleaning duty.”

 

“Well, off then, back in the closet with you!”

 

Lance stuck his tongue out at his boyfriend, who retorted by giving him a peck on the cheek and saying “by.”

 

“Why yeah am, thanks for noticing.” Lance winked then walked away sipping his bubble tea. Keith groaned through a smile.

 

* * *

 

Keith waited at the front entrance for Lance. Luckily, Shiro had given him a ride that morning so he didn’t have to worry about his motorcycle. He zoned out watching outside. There were some birds flying around in a big ol’ bird-clump. Suddenly, someone placed their hands over his eyes.

 

“Guess who!”

 

“Since it would be really weird if anyone else did this, so I’m gonna go with Lance.”

 

Lance moved his hands, “Woah, you’re so brilliant!”

 

“What do I win?”

 

“Kisses!”

 

Keith kissed him, “Booooring.”

 

Lance pinched him, “You’re just spoiled ‘cause I’m so great.”

 

“Yeah, you are pretty great.”

 

They held hands as they walked to Lance’s car. Lance made a big show of being a gentleman by opening the door for Keith, which made Keith laugh even though it wasn’t the first time he’d done that.

 

They sat in comfortable silence until Keith asked, “So where are we going?”

 

“It’s a surprise.”

 

“Laaaaaaaance,” he whined.

 

“Keeeeeeeith,” Lance mimicked.

 

“Tell me!”

 

“You’ll find out in a minute.”

 

Keith looked out the window. He felt like he’d seen this place before.

 

Eventually, Lance stopped in front of an old ice cream parlor. They got out.

 

“Is this?” Keith broke off.

 

“The ice cream place that you and your dad went to when you were a kid that I miraculously remembered after you described it to me once?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“How did you find this?”

 

“So that one time Nyma stole my car?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“The way she went was kind of a back way and we went past here.”

 

Keith gave Lance a hug. “You are the best.”

 

“Yeah, I am.”

 

Keith led Lance to the storefront he got vanilla, because it was the only lactose-free option, and Lance got chocolate-chip cookie dough.

 

They sat by the bank of the river, letting their bare feet dip in the slowly moving, cool water.

 

“Hey Lance?” Keith said.   
  


“Hmm?”

 

“I love you,” Keith said timidly.

 

“Dammit.”

 

Keith started to panic, “I’m sorry, did I say it too early? Did you bring me out here to break up with me?”

 

“No, no, no, calm down, what kind of sadist would do that?”

 

“Then what’s wrong?”

 

“I wanted to say it first.”

 

“Seriously? You went and got me worried,” Keith said light-heartedly.

 

“Yeah, I know, I’m a baby.”

 

“A little, yeah.”

 

“But Keith?”

 

“Hm?”

 

“You didn’t say it too early.”

 

Keith breathed a sigh of relief. “Good.”

 

“I love you too.”

 

* * *

 

They finished their ice cream and went back to the car.

 

Lance stopped at Keith’s house.

 

Keith waited before getting out of the car, “Hey do you wanna come inside?”

 

“I mean, I’ve got homework…”

 

“The Shiroganes aren’t home.”

 

“Yes.”

 

* * *

 

Pidge sat on her bed, working on the little robotics project she was building. She’d taken to calling it rover.

 

Her mother poked her head in. “Hi honey. Do you want to go out with Paul and I? We’re going to Pizza Barn. I know you love Pizza Barn.”

 

“I haven’t been to Pizza Barn since I was like, seven.”

 

“I’m trying to reach out to you.”

 

“Well maybe  you wouldn’t have to if you didn’t push me away in the first place. Maybe if you’d reached out to your daughter before reaching out to matched dot com then you wouldn’t have to know. Because you lost Matt and Dad but you threw me away.”

 

Pidge’s mom’s face was contorted into a look of betrayal and anger. “Fine. Have dinner on your own,” she said tightly. “There’re leftovers in the fridge. Goodnight.” She closed the door sharply, a sound that made Pidge flinch.

 

Pidge started working furiously to focus on anything but her family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Fact: Lance got a mango one.  
> Fun Fact: Angst.  
> Fun Fact: My longest lasting relationship was one month, so I don't really know how to write relationships.  
> Fun Fact: This story will have a happy ending. :) QXByaWwgRm9vbHM=  
> Fun Fact: I don't know if it's been said but Pidge's mom married Iverson. Pidge doesn't like him. He doesn't respect /her/.  
> Lance's mood: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouvpwHs8Ke8


	39. In Which They're Happy and Da- oh wait.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ah yes! They're together! Obviously the story is over now. But wait! There's three more chapters??!??!?! Oh no! What could they be????????????  
> IDK, probably not good lol

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you would like to believe that Lance and Keith live happily ever after, graduate college hand-in-hand, get married, eventually adopt three bright-eyed, smiling kids, and evenutally grow old happily together with contentment in their hearts and six grand children, then die together in their sleep in the same nursing home, I'd recommend that you turn back now and don't come back. Though, if you are one to seek truth, the good and bad of it, I'd still recommend you turn back now. This is not a cheerful tale, as so few truly are. If you are undeterred by this warning, I commend your perseverance. And your stupidity.
> 
> But in all honesty, thank you all so much for reading. I'm just... shocked that people actually read it.

Hunk sat by the door waiting for Lance to come pick up his pickup. Hunk was letting Lance borrow it for a date.

 

Lance and Keith had been together for almost a year and a half now, which even surprised Hunk.

 

Lance finally rolled up in his beaten up old van. He got out hurriedly and practically ran to the door. He opened it and said to Hunk, “I’m late, I’m late, fuck, I’m late.”

 

Hunk gave Lance the keys and called to his back, “Be safe! I Don’t wreck my car!”  Lance was already in the driver’s seat backing out by the time Hunk got his words out.

 

* * *

 

**He’s late,** Keith thought.

 

**Is he okay?**

 

**What if he’s not okay?**

 

**Oh jeez what if he got into an accident?**

 

**He’s fine,** Keith chided himself,  **he’s just late.**

 

Lance pulled into the driveway. Keith grabbed his jacket and headed out the door. He got into the car. “Where we heading?”

 

“Sorry I’m late, and We’re going to go to a big open field and stargaze and cuddle and it’s gonna be good.”

 

Keith reached over and took Lance’s hand. “That sounds amazing.”

 

They drove to a big field, just like Lance said. Fireflies were just starting to come out. Crickets and frogs chorused a soft melody from the woods nearby.

 

The boys got out of the cab of the truck and into the truck bed, which Lance had filled with blankets and pillows. They snuggled in together.

 

“This is really nice,” Keith said.

 

“That was kind of the point.”

 

“Mmhmm…”

 

“Hey, don’t fall asleep on me already,” Lance jovially said, jostling Keith. “We haven’t even talked at all.”

 

“Sorry, finals have been taking a lot out of me. What do you want to talk about?”

 

“I don’t really know. College?”

 

“Oof, anything but college. It’s all I’ve heard about since I got to highschool.”

 

“Same. Well, how about that one Netflix show you like?”

 

“Ugh, I don’t even like it!”

 

“Why do you watch it?”

 

“My gay heart wants to believe in the space gays but it’s probably queer-baiting.”

 

“Gross.”

 

“I know, right? But they’re so cute.”

 

“You know what else is cute?”

 

“If you say that I am-”

 

“You are.”

 

Keith groaned from the cheese, but smiled despite himself. “I love you.”

 

“I know. I love you too.”

 

They sat quietly in each other's arms. All was calm.

 

Until Keith sneezed really loudly without warning, pretty much giving Lance a heart attack.

 

“Bless you,” he said once he’d regained his composure.

 

“Thanks.”

 

Keith sighed. “Hey Lance?”

 

“Hmm?”

 

“If I never basically forced Shiro to give me a job would we ever have met?”

 

“I mean, probably we’d have a class together or like, had some kind of partner project or group project. And we also already met.”   
  


“I mean met met. Do you think that we’d be a couple?”   
  


“I don’t know. Probably not. It’s kind of a luck thing.”   
  


“Yeah. You don’t believe in fate at all?”   
  


“Nope. Soulmates, fate, destiny. I don’t believe in any of it.”

 

“Huh. I thought you would.”

 

“Do you?”

 

“Nah. But I guess it’s pretty lucky this happened.”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“But Lance, I have something to tell you.”

 

Anxiety powered Kill Bill sirens flared in Lance’s head, “What?”

 

“A while ago I got accepted into my first choice school. But I didn’t want to tell you.”

 

“That’s great!” Lance smiled and looked at Keith. Keith looked away. “It’s Garrison, right?”

 

“Well I got accepted there, but that’s not my first choice.”

 

“Then… what is?”

  
“TTU. Texas Tech University. My dad went there.”

 

“Texas?”

 

“Yeah.”   
  


“And you want to… go there?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

Lance sighed. “I can’t tell you to not do what you want, and I can’t force you to stay here. I’m not going to.”

 

“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner. I know I should’ve but I didn’t want to ruin things by pretty much dooming them immediately. Are you mad?”

 

“I’m not happy. But I see your point. What do we do now?”

 

“I guess… we could stay together as long as possible, or break up before I go. Or now, if you want to. I wouldn’t blame you.”

 

Lance held Keith closer. “Now’s not an option. But I don’t want to keep you held down while you’re gone and I don’t have a lot of faith in long distance.”

 

“So… we’ve got until August.”

 

The air between them was somber, in the way the air in a courtroom is after an innocent man is condemned as guilty. Which is not to say that either was in the wrong in this situation. They both truly wanted what was best for the other.

 

Lance finally sighed. “Well then, let’s make the best of the time we have.”

 

Keith smiled sadly. “Yeah.”

 

“I love you.”

 

Keith snuggled into Lance’s chest. “You too.”

 

They both started to fall asleep.

 

* * *

 

In the middle of the night, Lance was woken up by a drop of cold water on his face. He opened his eyes as another hit him. 

 

**Ah shit, it’s raining.**

 

He sat up and jostled Keith around, “Yo. Wake up, it’s raining, we need to cover the pillows and stuff before it gets too bad.”

 

Keith groggily sat up and they managed to put the tarp over the blankets and pillows before the storm really hit. 

 

Keith walked over to Lance. Thankfully, despite the rain, the moon shone through and provided enough light for them to see each other. 

 

“Do you want to get into the car?” Lance asked.   
  


“One sec, I wanna do a thing that I’ve always wanted to do.” 

 

Keith kissed him while the rain fell around them. It was cute and tropey. When Keith pulled away, he said, “Okay, we can get into the car now.”

 

They got into the car and listened to the rain outside.

 

“You know, we should get out of these wet clothes.”

 

“Good point. Wouldn’t want to catch a cold.”

 

* * *

 

Hunk texted Lance the next morning with instructions to take the truck to an interior cleaning place and that he’d already made an appointment and paid in advance.

 

Lance was only mildly offended.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Fact: I really like A Series of Unfortunate Events  
> Fun Fact: I also really like the concept of kissing in the rain.  
> Fun Fact: Yeet Yeet, no secret codes today
> 
> Lance's mood: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FMuIaPpsh0Q   
> (He's Elle in this situation.)


	40. In Which College Ruins Everything

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> So this is the end.  
> We've come a long way, kiddos.   
> Thank you for reading.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> But yeah! Thanks for reading all of this! I'm sad that it's over, but all good things must come to an end. :( Thank you so so much for the support. This is the only project I've ever finished I think and I'm glad that I did. I never imagined that anyone would read it or that I'd even love this so much. And I'm looking forward to Spring break next week! :)

The Summer passed too fast. They spent as much time as they could together, but it never seemed like enough. There was a sense of dread hanging over them.

 

And now, it was the day before Keith left for school.

 

They laid on their backs in front of the library. They were supposed to be setting up a banner for the “End of Summer Book Sale”. But they didn’t really want to work, and the rest of the library didn’t really feel like forcing them to do it. Keith had everything packed. It was already on its way in a moving van. Keith was flying out with the Shiroganes, young and old tomorrow morning to move in and say his goodbyes. Lance wanted to go, but he didn’t have the money for a flight and he had to move into his dorm at the local college the same day.

 

Everything had an air of inescapable finality.

 

“Are you going to visit?” Lance asked.

 

“Maybe for a little while during Christmas. It’s expensive to commute and I’m going to try to keep a part time job in Texas, to help with tuition. My dad left me all he had, but with the state of the economy I’ll be lucky if I can afford ramen. Will you visit?”

 

“We both know I can’t afford that.”

 

“We agreed things were going to end cleanly, that we could be mature about this.”

 

“They can.”

 

“This doesn’t feel-” he broke off, took a deep breath, and continued, “-This doesn’t feel clean.”

 

“I know,” Lance said despondently.

 

“Should we even bother to message? Call? Anything?”

 

“I don’t know. Isn’t that why we’re breaking up? To not drag this out? 

 

“Would it be better to?”

 

“I don’t know.”

 

“Neither do I,” Keith said

 

There was a silence between the two that felt coldly electric.

 

“It’s just, It doesn’t feel real. I figured we’d be together for a lot longer than we were.”

 

“We had a good run.”

 

“I’m going to miss you.”

 

“I’m going to miss you too.”

 

“What if things were… different? What if I had stayed here, in this god-forsaken town, with you? What would happen?”

 

“We’d probably actually be hanging up that banner right now. We might go to college together, maybe we’d stay together like Allura and Shiro. Maybe we wouldn’t. If we did end up making it through college together I’d probably propose by the end of senior year. Something big and extravagant, cheesy, just like everything I do. We’d adopt a few kids, maybe foster. I’d be a working actor, you’d have your garage. We’d make enough to move to a nice suburb of some city and one of my cousins could take over the farm. We’d put the kids through college and eventually retire to somewhere nice.”

 

“That sounds perfectly dull.”

 

“Why? What would you change?”

 

“Not a single thing.”

 

“But you did.”

 

“I did,” he said guiltily.

 

“I don’t blame you. You’re pursuing what you want. I’m your highschool boyfriend. In thirty years, I’m not going to matter in the scope of your life. And I’ve come to terms with that. But you have to too.”

 

“I know.”

 

Lance stood up and brushed himself off, “Come on, we need to do this one thing today.”

 

Keith stood up too, with Lance’s help. They hung the banner together and walked back into the library to spend the rest of the day behind the counter, the same place they’d spent most of their time together.

 

The evening rolled around. Everyone lazily filed out of the library. Lance and Keith met by the tree outside the entrance.

 

“So. This is goodbye then,” Keith said.   
  


“Yeah. I guess it is,” Lance replied.

 

“I’m going to miss you.”

 

“I’ll miss you too. Message me. Not all the time, but when you can. I still want to make sure that you’re doing okay.”

 

“I will.”

 

“And if you want to, I wouldn’t be opposed to actually seeing you.”

 

“I know.”

 

Lance turned to look at Keith. “I love you.”

 

“I love you too.”

 

They kissed for what may be the last time. 

 

“It was nice knowing you, Keith Kogane.”

 

“Same to you, Lance McClain.”

 

“Goodbye.”

 

Keith smiled sadly, “Bye.”

 

Keith turned to walk to his car, not being able to look over back at Lance.

 

Lance watched him go, a sudden melancholy filling his body.

 

“Keith!” Lance yelled.

 

Keith turned around. “What?”

 

Lance ran over to him. “Thank you for everything you did for me. For every moment that you spent on cheering me up and helping me through everything and sticking with me even though I’ve got so much drama and everything. I never could thank you enough. You are amazing. Everything you do is. I don’t want you to be held back by me.”

 

“I know.”

 

“You are one of the most important people in my life.”

 

“Okay?”

 

“And just… thank you. So much.”

 

“I’m going to miss everything here.”

 

“I will too.”

 

“You’re staying.”

 

“But everything’s going to be different without you.”

 

Keith sniffled, “Honestly I don’t get why we have to do this. We could make this work. I could stay.”

 

Lance laughed slightly. “No. No. Don’t. You’re amazing and I love you, but you want to leave. It’s for the best. You can’t stay here.”

 

Keith hugged him tightly. “You’re right.”

 

“I always am.”

 

Keith examined his face with humor in his eyes. “You sure about that?”

 

“Absolutely.”

 

Keith looked over his shoulder at the setting sun. “I need to get home. My flight is really early tomorrow.”

 

He looked back at Lance and scoured his face as if it was the last time he’d ever see him.

 

“Okay. For real this time. Goodbye.”

 

Keith sighed and smiled, thinking of the good memories they’d made. “Bye.”

 

Lance cracked a smirk that Keith recognized all too well. He said in a voice between laughter and tears, “Why yes I am.”

 

Keith groaned and smiled. “Okay, that’s it. Goodbye forever.” He turned and walked away. 

 

Lance watched him leave for real this time. Lance watched as he got on his motorcycle and gave him one final wave. Lance watched at the person he loved left his life for what would feel like forever. Lance watched long after Keith was out of sight, wondering if he’d ever see him again. Lance watched him go and not look back. He finally exhaled heavily through his nose and walked slowly over to his van, to go home.

 

Lance had felt heartbreak before. He’d had break ups and blow ups. But this felt like the end of a story. A big part of his life now that wouldn’t seem so big in a few years was over and he was different. 

 

Lance got into his van and tried to start it. It didn’t even make a sound. He tried again. Nothing. He felt tears streak down his face. He hit the wheel in a way similar to that of his emotions hitting him. It was over, done.

 

He didn’t know how long he sat there, crying and throwing a tantrum before he heard a soft tap on the window.

 

He looked up and saw an artificially red-haired person with a concerned look on their face peering through the window at him. “Are you okay?” The person asked.

 

Lance composed himself as best he could and opened the door. “Yeah, I’ll get over it.”

 

The person still looked worried. “What got you so messed up?” They asked, with a light canadian accent.

 

“I just broke up with my boyfriend and now my car won’t start.”

 

“That’s rough, buddy. Do ya need a lift somewheres?”

 

Lance’s lip upturned slightly. “Yeah, I need a ride home. Do you live around here?”

 

“I’m going to college nearby, I was just touring around the town and saw you so I figured I’d make sure you were okay. My car’s right on the side of the road.”

 

“Hartford?”

 

“Yeah.”

 

“I’m starting there too. What’s your name?”

 

“I’m Avil Harris. She her pronouns. And you are?”

 

“The name’s Lance.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fun Fact: Avil means rebirth. I'm not clever.  
> Fun Fact: Pidge wasn't around the day Keith left. It was because she really hates goodbyes.   
> Fun Fact: Keith isn't great about keeping promises.  
> Fun Fact: I started writing this fic out of spite during a spring break trip to Mississippi because my family there is mega homophobic. It was over a year ago that this whole mess came into the world. It started during spring break and I'm glad that it's really ending during Spring break too. :)  
> Fun Fact: For old time's sake: 01110000 01100001 01101110 01100011 01100001 01101011 01100101 00100000 01110010 01100001 01101001 01101110 00100000 01101001 01110011 00100000 01100001 00100000 01110011 01101001 01100111 01101110 00100000 01101111 01100110 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01100001 01110000 01101111 01100011 01100001 01101100 01111001 01110000 01110011 01100101 00101100 00100000 01110100 01110101 01101101 01100010 01101100 01110010 00101100 00100000 01101101 01100101 01101100 01101111 01100100 01110010 01100001 01101101 01100001 01110100 01101001 01100011 00110011 01110010 01100100 01110111 01101000 01100101 01100101 01101100 00101100 00100000 01101001 01100110 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 00100000 01100100 01101111 00100000 01110100 01101000 01101001 01110011 00101100 00100000 01100011 01101111 01101101 01101101 01100101 01101110 01110100 00100000 01110111 01101001 01110100 01101000 00100000 01110100 01101000 01100101 00100000 01110111 01101111 01110010 01100100 00100000 01111001 01100101 01100101 01110100 00100000 01101001 01101110 00100000 01111001 01101111 01110101 01110010 00100000 01100011 01101111 01101101 01101101 01100101 01101110 01110100  
> Lance's mood: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6EOUaWscrE


	41. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay, this is the actual end. It's been a year working on this and it's the first thing I've finished. I'm so so so glad that I uploaded it and doing this has always made me happy. Your comments encouraged me so much and honestly, this never would've been finished if you never commented.  
> Thank you so much.

Saturday, August 25th, 2018

 

11:58 p.m. Doofus <3: 

Hey Keith! How’s unpacking? Is it hot in Texas?

Oh wait you’re probably asleep or something.

 

Sunday, August 26th, 2018

 

11:02 a.m. You: 

yea i was asleep. its wicked hot here but thankfully we hooked up the ac fast.

It works a lot better than the one at the library lol

Hows move in weekend 4u?

 

Doofus <3: 

Pretty okay, I met a cute guy but he’s super straight. :P

 

You:

So were you

 

Doofus <3:

Touche

Well I’ve got some more unpacking to do.

Ttyl

 

You:

Same

Have fun

 

Thursday, August 30th, 2018

 

1:07 a.m. Lance:

You awake?

 

You:

Unfortunately

 

Lance:

I thought you liked staying up late?

 

You:

Not when its for homework

 

Lance:

Oof

 

You:

Why are you up?

 

Lance:

;) ;) guess

 

You:

That was quick

 

Lance:

Yeah…

You:

Well ive got stuff to do.

L8r

 

Lance:

Night

 

Saturday, September 1st, 2018

2:28 a.m. Lance:

Heyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy keigth

How u doin/? ;))

 

You:

youre drunk arent you

 

Lance:

drunk on LOVE!!!!1

You:

youre drunk

Get a taxi to your dorm

 

Lance:

I misss uuuuuuuu. <3<3<3

U shoud come bac and date me again

I loooove uuuuu

 

You:

Lance. Stop.

 

Lance:

Nothings the same withot iu

Youre waaaaaaaaaaaaaaay hottre than every1 her

excpet me

Im the bests :)

 

You:

I’m going to call your mother.

 

Lance:

Whaaaaaaaaaaat. Youve gotten drunk b4

You remember that one time rite?? ;)))))

 

You:

That doesn’t make it any less illegal or dangerous now.

 

Lance:

You;re no fuann :(((((:((

Id still hit that tho

You:

Boi

 

Lance:

Hi! Sorry about that, dude. This is Avil, Lance’s friend 

and Designated Driver. He’s in good hands. :)

 

You:

Good. i was worried.

How drunk is he?

 

Lance:

He’s crying like a toddler bc I took his boy.

I’m assuming you’re the boyfriend that went to Texas.

 

You:

Uhhh, yeah. I thought that we were done with 

this sort of thing. We shouldntve kept texting

Is he okay when he’s sober?

 

Lance:

I mean, he sleeps around a LOT. Is that normal?

 

You:

It was a few years ago. Pre-me, ig.

 

Lance: 

Well he’s back at it again. 

 

You:

How much do you know about me?

 

Lance:

You’re his Ex bc you wanted to go to college in Texas,

but you both decided to break it off.

I don’t think he’s taking it super well.

 

You:

I feel awful. Like im to blame for him drinking

 

Lance:

He’s also kind of an idiot.

But don’t worry. I’ll keep him out of trouble as much as I can.

 

You:

Thanks for being there for him. U seem like a really cool dude

 

Lance:

No prob. But i’ve gotta get this bozo to his dorm.

Adios, Lance’s mysterios T-Ex-as boy.

 

You:

I can see why you two get along.

Bye.

 

Saturday, September 1st, 2018

 

1:27 p.m. Lance:

I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean that stuff. I’m sorry.

 

You:

Don’t worry about it. Just take better care of yourself.

And keep Avil around. She seems like a cool person.

 

Lance:

Ah, Avil’s a dude rn. And I will.

 

You:

But I think it would be better for both of us if we didnt talk as much.

Or like, at all.

 

Lance:

Oh.

Okay.

 

You:

Im sorry. Its just for the best. Ok?

 

Lance:

Yeah. Don’t worry about it.

 

Wednesday, November 7th, 2018

 

3:48 p.m. You:

Yo. Do you remember what the username for that youtube

channel that pidgeon made was?

 

Lance:

I thought we weren’t texting anymore.

And it was Library from Hell

 

You:

I said as much.

thank

 

Lance:

k np

 

Tuesday, December 25th, 2018

 

Lance:

Merry Christmas, Keefy boy.

 

You:

Right back at you

Say hi to cleo and the rest of your family for me.

 

Lance:

I swear, they still love you more than me.

Any plans for break?

 

You:

I’m home for today and tomorrow, but I’ve got a job near the campus

and our break isnt v long anyway. hbu?

 

Lance:

Nm. we can’t afford any huge vacations or anything.

My abuelita’s here -_- so that’s fun.

 

You:

Oof. Her.

 

Lance: 

Yeah.

But I’ve got laundry to do. (Chores never stop, even for holidays)

Later, dude. Merry Christmas!

 

You:

merry christmas :)

 

Thursday, January 17th, 2019

 

Lance:

Happy birthday, you old man!! :P

 

You:

Thanks! And youre still older than me

 

Lance:

We’re both old. 19. Oof

 

You:

One step closer to death.

 

Lance:

Careful, you might cut someone on all that edge.

 

You:

:P

 

Monday, April 15th, 2019

 

6:15 p.m. Lance:

Hey hey hey

 

7:23 p.m. Lance:

Yo. You read my message. What’s up? Are you 

Mad at me bc Avil and I are a thing?

 

9:43 p.m. Lance:

Okaay. Whatever dude. I’m going to bed.

 

Wednesday, April 17th, 2019

 

6:18 p.m. You:

Hey, sorry. I was busy.

 

Lance:

Yeah. It’s fine.

 

You:

So how’s school?

 

Lance:

Fine. How about you?

 

7:27 p.m. Lance:

K

 

Sunday, July 28th, 2019

 

12:26 p.m. You:

Happy 20th, Lance!

 

Lance:

Thanks. :)

 

Tuesday, August 20th, 2019

 

4:38 p.m. Lance McClain:

Hey

  
  


Wednesday, August 21st, 2019

 

8:53 p.m. Lance McClain:

Hello?

 

Sunday, August 25th, 2019

 

3:41 p.m. Lance McClain:   
Shiro said you didn’t change your number. If you wanted 

to stop talking then fine. But you could’ve told me.

 

Saturday, October 10th, 2020   
  


7:17 p.m. Lance McClain:   
Hey man. Sorry about bothering you so much.

  
  


Monday, August 30th, 2021

 

4:30 a.m. Lance McClain:

You probably already have heard but Pidge went missing recently. 

Just after her graduation. She might come down your way? 

She’s got long hair now and almost as tall as me.

 

Monday, January 17th, 2022

 

6:38 p.m. Lance McClain:

Happy 22nd Birthday. =)

 

Monday, September 5th, 2022

 

5:41 p.m. 555-3825:

Hey. I know that you might not even be reading these

anymore, but I’m changing my number. So. Yeah. This is

my last message to you. Have a good life. 

 

Wednesday, June 8th, 2022

 

4:39 p.m. You:

I wish that I’d messaged you. I’m sorry and I know you can’t read

this right now, and honestly I deserve that. I wasn’t trying to ignore 

you, I swear. I was so busy and it was so hard for me to do anything

you didn’t deserve this. I wish I could apologize in a way that you 

could actually see. Have a good life.

 

* * *

 

Keith read over the texts again and again. He ran his hand through his newly cut hair. It was a month after he’d sent that last text. He was staying at Shiro’s house for the time being. He had a week at home before his deployment.

 

He got through the first two years of college before he ran out of money. Then he turned to the air force. He’d always wanted to be a pilot. Not a fighter pilot, but it was his last chance. He couldn’t take more from the Shiroganes.

 

Shiro leaned over Keith’s shoulder, sleeping toddler balanced on his hip. “What’s up, Keith?”

 

“Just reading some stuff.”

 

“Cool. Could you put Kimberly down for a nap? I’ve got groceries to get.”

 

Keith got up and took the kid from Shiro, “Yeah, no prob. Go be an awesome dad.”

 

Shiro gave Kimberly a peck on the top of her head. “Will do.” He turned and left.

 

Keith put his niece down in her toddler bed and checked on his nephew, Josh, who was asleep. He crept out of the room and into the guest room that he’d been staying in. He opened the ext conversation back up and read it over a few more times. It just ate him inside that he could never say sorry to Lance.

 

Suddenly, he had an idea. He texted Shiro, asking if Lance still worked at the library. Shiro replied that yes, Lance still worked at the library. He was the manager now. 

 

Keith told Shiro to hurry up at the grocery store. He had stuff to do and he wasn’t going to wake up the kids to take them.

 

Half of an excruciatingly long hour later, Shiro pulled in in his minivan, and started unloading what he got. He made Keith help then finally let him go.

 

Keith took the minivan (his bike was in his storage locker in Texas) to the library. He pulled into the parking lot. He scanned the area for Lance’s van, but he couldn’t find it. There were more cars in the lot than usual.

 

He walked into the library. There were a few people milling around. A teenage girl with short brown hair and glasses thicker than the earth’s crust was checking some books out for a very wholesome looking family. Keith waited behind them. 

 

The family moved on with their armfuls of books, and Keith walked up to the counter. “May I speak to the manager?”

 

The girl looked terrified, “I’m sorry, is something wrong? Is there something I can help you with?”

 

Keith’s cool mildly badass facade melted into a babbling mess, “Oh, no it’s not like that, I just know him and uh I wanted to talk to him because we haven’t seen each other in-”

 

“Keith?” asked a voice that Keith didn’t recognize. He turned to see a rather petite-framed lady with long fake red hair that was dark brown at the roots.

 

“Sorry, do I know you?” Keith asked, confused.

 

The woman shifted the books she was holding to one hip and held out her hand to shake. “I’m Avil Harris.”

 

“Oh! You’re Avil. It’s nice to know what you look like after all this time.”

 

“I’d say the same but I already knew, obviously. Are you here to see Lance? He’s downstairs.”

 

“Okay, thanks. Shiro’s old office?”

 

“Probably. I came here after Shiro left.”

 

“Oh. Okay. Nice meeting you.”

 

Keith walked down the familiar staircase. Everything felt strange. It was as if everything had just been moved one inch to the right, so that it felt off but you couldn’t quite tell why.

 

He knocked on the door that had a plaque labelled “manager”. 

 

Lance opened the door and had half a mind to close it again. His eyes flicked up and down, examining Keith. “So am I the one who’s supposed to forget who you are this time or..?”

 

Keith smiled uneasily, “It’s been a few years.”

 

“I noticed. Come in, sit down.” Lance turned and gestured Keith in. “Close the door behind you.”

 

Keith sat in one of the small papasan chairs Lance had in his office. 

 

“Coffee?” Lance offered. His voice was light, as if this was any old afternoon meeting with a friend.

 

“No thanks. I don’t drink much coffee anymore.”

 

Lance raised an eyebrow at him. “Hm,” he said.

 

Keith suddenly felt very self-conscious. “Look, I came here to say I’m sorry. I never got the nerve to text you until you’d already changed your number.” Keith refused to look at Lance.

 

“You had years to,” his voice was still light, but cold at the same time.

 

“I know.”

 

There was an awkward silence. 

 

“So… you have a beard,” Keith said.

 

“Oh really. I couldn’t tell that there was hair growing on my face.”

 

Keith stood up. “Well I should go then. It’s obvious you don’t want to hear from me, and honestly I don’t blame you.”

 

He had his hand on the knob of the door before Lance spoke up. “Wait.”

 

Keith looked back at Lance. 

 

Lance took a deep breath. “We’ve still got catching up to do. What’ve you been doing all this time? Why’re you so buff all of a sudden?”

 

“Well I joined the airforce to pay for college.”

 

“Huh.”

 

“That’s… pretty much it.”

 

“Wow. It’s been three years since I last heard from you and that’s it.”

 

“Well what about you?”

 

“I’m a working actor, mostly. Avil and I are engaged. Cleo’s going to college this fall. Gwen and her family moved into their own house that’s still near the farm. Hunk’s working at and engineering firm in New York City. And no one’s heard from Pidge since she graduated high school.”

 

“That’s a lot to take in.”

 

“Yeah. A lot has changed since you left.”

 

“You’re engaged.”

 

“Did you expect me to wait around for you?”

 

“Not at all. It’s just weird. I still had you in my mind as a gangly teenage swimmer, not a mature adult.”

 

“You’re an adult, and I’m older than you.”

 

“By like, six months.”

 

“That’s half a year!”

 

“It’s only months.”

 

“Rounding up.”

 

They both smiled as they realized they’d fallen into one of the many things they’d bickered about in their past.

 

“But no one’s heard from Katie?” Keith asked.

 

“No. She just… disappeared one day. Shiro found her resignation taped to the door the day after she graduated and her office was cleared out. She was just… gone.”

 

“Wow.”

 

Lance stirred his straw around in his coffee. “So. You have anyone back in Texas?”

 

“No, not really. I went on a few dates but I didn’t have the free time to hold down a relationship.”

 

“I get that. It’s been so long since you last came here. Can I ask what brought you back?”

 

“I’m getting sent overseas. I just wanted to see everyone and everything before. Just in case.”

 

“Oh.” Lance wrapped his hands around his mug. “I forgive you.”

 

Keith smiled. “Really? Or is it just because this might be the last time you see me?”

 

“Really. You were right. Not talking helped me move on. And now I have Avil. Actually, if you hadn’t gone to Texas, then I wouldn’t have met her.”

 

“You’re welcome, then.”

 

“When are you leaving?”

 

“Tomorrow.”

 

“Oh.”

 

“Yeah. And I haven’t packed everything I need so I’d better get going.”

 

“It was nice knowing you, Keith.”

 

“Hey, that makes this sound way too final. I’ll come back. So. See you later. Okay?”

 

“In a while, crocodile.”

 

Keith drove back to the Shiroganes’ and packed the rest of his things. Once he was done he walked over to the kids’ playroom, where Allura and Shiro were playing with Kimberly and Josh. He leaned on the doorway and watched Shiro pretend to drink tea out of one of the cups Kimberly had given him. Keith’s mind started to wander about what things would’ve changed if he’d stayed. If he and Lance would’ve been together still. Maybe he’d be the one engaged to Lance. 

 

He snapped out of it and went to his room to get some sleep. He had an early flight tomorrow.

 

* * *

 

The next morning there were no grandiose gestures of love. No people surprising him to see him off. The only people there were the Shiroganes, old and young. He gave them all hugs and boarded the plane. He’d never come back the same person ever again.

 

* * *

 

**_Knock knock_ **

 

Caroline Streeter opened the door to see a rather ragged person. She sighed internally, assuming that they’d ask for money.

 

“Hello, my name is Katie Holt, have you seen this man?”


End file.
